Sonic Chaos 3: Return to Origins
by Deliverer
Summary: Eggman is out of commission, the fortress being rebuilt, the Sonic Heroes safe for now. However, Sonic has yet to see some old friends, and on the horizon a double agent appears.
1. Timeline

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Preceded by "The Sleet Aleena Chronicles: Installment 1-The Bounty Hunter And The Queen."

Now is as good a time as any to describe why I have different names for different parts of my stories. "The Sleet Aleena Chronicles" focus on the 'relationship' of Sleet and Aleena, and takes place whenever a main story focuses on them. "The Royal Archives," which you are reading now, focus on the Council of Four and whatever focuses on them. Stories without a beginning, like "Painful Memories", will usually be long and like specials, or movies like premiers or finals. There will be one called "Sonic Hero's Adventures," which will focus on all those in Painful Memories and will be used when it focuses on the Sonic Heroes. Another will be "The Knothole Mobotropolis Exploits," which will happen when a story focuses on Knothole residents, such as Sally Acorn and company, and Mobotropolis, focusing on Sonic's old friends like Cyrus and co. Each first will hold something relatively mandatory such as new characters added who may or may not play prominent roles in others, then depending on whether it's important or not, I will tell you if you can go without reading it or if it's recommended. Enjoy. As always, no OC's and multiple hints to multiple different pairings.

This chapter will attempt to clarify the canon and put everything in place so you can understand it better.)

_**Timeline**_

Team Vile watched from a log, as Eggman's robots worked to repair the damaged base. Dingo, to Sleet's right, sat on the log. Sleet leaned indifferently against it. Fang lay on it to the left, letting the sun warm his fur. "How much longer Sleet?" Dingo asked.

Sleet answered, "Not long enough. I wish it would take longer. This island is perfect for a base. It's isolated, small enough to get around, but big enough to hide on if things get difficult."

"I hear ya," Nack agreed.

"Why don't ya tell Robotnick then mate?" Dingo asked Sleet.

"Are you crazy? He's not happy the Council of Four got away. He's ready to kill me if I get him angry!" Sleet retorted.

"Hey, Sleet, if you don't have the guts, leave it to me," Fang declared.

"_You_? What a laugh," Sleet replied, letting the weasel's insult slide.

Nack looked coldly at him. He grinned, though, then said, "Yeah me. Watch and learn. You ain't the only one who can talk quick." With that the weasel leapt up and head towards the base. Sleet and Dingo watched after him in surprised curiosity, Sleet's arms unfolding.

Eggman surveyed the repairs from the main window. He heard a door slide open. "I hope for your sake you're not Sleet," he said.

"Nah, Sleet don't drive an air bike," Fang replied, purposely letting in a Southern or Australian twang.

Eggman turned. "Ah Fang, my second favorite," he said.

"Only second?" Nack asked.

"Have you gotten cockier?" Eggman asked.

"I'm just in a good mood," Fang said. "And who knows, I might have picked up a few tricks from your favorite. Remember Sleet?"

"I would have guessed you picked it up from Sonic," Eggman replied. Nack just shrugged. "You know, Nack, _you_ could be my favorite," Eggman said suddenly. He was satisfied when Fang visibly stiffened.

After a moment, the weasel replied, "I _could_, but that's not why I'm here."

"Why Fang, I'm shocked. You're not normally one to pass up a chance to stomp out your 'friends' in order to place yourself higher. I recall you turning on your closest allies just to get what you wanted," Robotnick said. Nack didn't say a word. After a moment, Eggman asked, "Why _are_ you here?"

"Oh, no reason, just to talk," Fang answered. He looked out the window then added, "You know, this island is a pretty safe location for us."

Just as he'd hoped, Eggman perked up. "I suppose…" the man finally replied.

Using Sleet's description, Nack continued, "Yeah. It's isolated, small enough to get around, but big enough to disappear into without a trace. I like it. Sleet even mentioned that it would make a perfect home base." It was risky to mention the wolf, but Fang also knew that Eggman liked Sleet's ideas, even respected his opinion, which was rare for Robotnick.

Eggman said nothing a moment. Finally, though, he said, "That was exactly what I was thinking. Inform Sleet and Dingo that you three are to scout out the island. I've decided we'll stay here a while. We can simply make it _seem_ like we've left."

"Yes sir Eggman. You're brilliant your amazingness," Fang complimented, temporarily adopting Sleet's habit of flattering the man. As he was leaving, though, he suddenly stopped. As an afterthought he turned, then said, "It's not that I wouldn't like to become your favorite, Doctor, it's more like I don't want to risk trying to match up to Sleet. I'm not inclined to take the worst of your punishment. Besides, think about it Eggman, will anyone ever truly surpass Sleet in supposed value to you? Failure is hard to avoid, and Sleet has failed you the least out of all your minions." Eggman stiffened. Nack smirked then left.

"Hey Sleet, ya think Nack's been imprisoned?" Dingo asked.

"With the mood Robotnick was in last I saw him, I wouldn't doubt it," Sleet replied.

"Think again," a voice said. The other two looked at him in shock.

"Nack, did ya do it?" Dingo asked.

"You bet I did," Fang replied.

"What? How?" Sleet demanded.

"I learned from the best Sleet. That and my natural cunning," Nack replied. "He wants us to scout out the island."

"Ah, of course," Sleet said, pleasantly surprised at the flattery. It was rare that _he_ got it. He usually dealt it out. "Let's go partners. Or should I say, Team Vile." Sleet headed off, leading the way.

Dingo remarked, before he and Fang followed, "I'm shocked at how Sleet's taken a third partner."

"Why?" Nack asked.

"I told you 'bout Drago. That was the last attempt at forming a team he tried mate. You know what happened," Dingo replied.

"What has that got to do with it?" Fang questioned.

"Everything," Sleet suddenly said. They gasped, only then noticing that he was waiting for them. "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't," Sleet clarified. Nack's eyes lit up in understanding, and he nodded. "Dingo is the devil I know. I must admit, though, Nack, you've proved yourself so far. It's a relief to actually have someone clever as a partner."

"I'm flattered Sleet," Nack lightly said, smirking. Sleet coldly smirked back.

"Come on you idiots, let's get this over with," Sleet ordered, turning and beckoning them to follow.

"Oh boy, we get to explore," Dingo said excitedly.

Sleet led them into the forest without so much as a hint that he would stop. Finally, though, he ceased so abruptly that the other two almost ran into him. "Whoa!" Fang exclaimed.

"Watch it mate!" Dingo shot.

Sleet looked back at them coldly, then said, "We're about center here. I'll go right, Nack go left, Dingo keep on straight until you reach the opposite beach. We've already checked the one we crashed near. We meet back here as soon as we've finished scouting."

Sleet made his way towards the beach on the right, rehashing what he knew about their position. He and Dingo hadn't been in Robotropolis when Eggman found them, but they weren't too far either. Eggman obviously knew where it was still, even though he hadn't been there for a long time. After the incident, Sonic had searched everywhere for his siblings, but never found them. The three had been scattered throughout Mobius, and into the few human colonies that had appeared over time, especially after the incident.

Sleet remembered following Aleena on her search. She had found Manic in a city he didn't know the name of. From the cliff it had taken… How long _had_ it taken? If only he could have kept track of time. It had taken a while. Sonia she had found in Soleanna. That was a shorter journey, at least. From Robotropolis to the cliff where they had first disappeared wasn't long, but definitely not only one day. Sonic must have been the farthest away, since Aleena was able to find Sonia and Manic, but not him.

Why was he trying to map it out? A map wouldn't help. He needed a _timeline_. Now, blending all the stories he'd heard, and using his own knowledge, he felt he could get it fairly accurate. Bang, the incident. Human colonies and Mobian colonies then had a jump in converging into the Mobius they all knew and loved, hah. The children and Doctor Eggman Robotnick were gone, even Angel Island had disappeared. That night Aleena had come to where he and Dingo were sleeping, waiting to see if they'd return. He had heard her and got up. He had chased her, followed her, and after that, time had seemed to blend.

First she found Manic. That took a long time on its own. It took a long time to find Sonia in Soleanna too, but not as long. There was the time it took to get back to the city Manic was in to reunite the two siblings. After that they had searched everywhere they possibly could to try and find Sonic, and Aleena had gone on her own way, still watching the children.

It was a long time before the two finally gave up. It took Aleena only a little longer to finally accept that Sonic was 'dead.' At that point she had given up and focused on watching over Sonia and Manic. At least until Sonia and Manic returned to Mobodoon, trying to get away from their pain and loss. Sonic wouldn't have known Mobodoon had shown up. Even if he had, the royal family had probably sometimes missed each other by minutes, since all four were searching for each other. By the time they thought to stay in one place, Sonic had probably checked there and beyond. The little blue one was too fast for his own good. It must have been why they never found each other. Aleena had simply disappeared again to wherever she went. He had lost her after her mourning over Sonic.

From Eggman's stories he knew she couldn't have returned to Robotropolis, or she would have found Sonic soon enough. She couldn't have gone back to Knothole either, for that matter. "Where did you go Aleena?" Sleet wondered aloud. Who took care of you, my old love? Where did you sleep, where did you eat, were you really so alone? No. Not while _I_ followed you, but after…

Sonic had returned to the forest sobbing, from what he'd found out. He had then left behind his past, all thoughts of his mother. He had found the fox, Tails, Amadeus and Rosemary's child, and the two had gone on many adventures, just them. He had soon returned to his uncle and aunt who had, for so long, raised him as their own in Robotropolis, or was it in Knothole Village? Knothole City now, he supposed. He had believed them to be his birth parents for so long. When he returned to them, he put them back in place of his true parent, forgetting, actually forgetting for a while, his mother and siblings.

He had met the child of Aleena's old friends, Max and Alicia Acorn. Sally was her name, and the other freedom fighters of Knothole. They had had their adventures. Slowly he had drifted away, only returning to them once in a while to introduce them to some new friend he'd made. According to Eggman, after he had met each new person, Tikal, Shadow, Rouge, Blaze, Silver, the Babylon Rogues, the Chaotix, Shade, he would return for a little while and pull off some missions with his old friends, rekindling relationships, before fading once more into oblivion with only a chosen few. Finally he had just stopped returning to Knothole from Station Square and Emerald City and wherever else. He stuck with the newer friends. Namely, the Sonic Heroes Team Vile had just dealt with recently; and his older friends, though he didn't forget _them_ as he had his family, faded into the recesses of his mind.

The one time he remembered his real family, as Sleet recalled according to Robotnick, was when he had dreamed about them after having forgotten. He had dreamed that they were never his family to begin with, but an alternate Sonic's. When he had awakened he had purposely tried to convince himself it was true. For all the good it did. He _did_ manage to forget once more, though, or try. Then Eggman had come to get Dingo and him. Then the rest was history. He wondered now, however, where things would go from here.

Dingo emerged onto the far beach. He wandered up and down it, checking for anything suspicious. He had already cleared his portion of the woods. Soon, though, he grew bored of checking the beach. There was sand and ocean, the occasional rock outcrop or cove, but nothing was hidden in any of them. Before he had finished his section he had decided it was clear. He looked over the ocean as he walked a little farther, saying, "There ain't anything suspicious here. Might as well head back."

He was just about to turn around and leave, when suddenly he came across a cove. He debated whether or not to check it, then decided he would, and call it a night, or day, as it was. He hurried up to it, wanting this done with, and rounded the corner. He pulled up short with a gasp on seeing what the cove held. There was fire on the water! "What the…!" he began. He noticed, suddenly, the debris, and gasped. A plane! He scrambled down towards the wreck. It couldn't have held more than one person, maybe three, actually. He wondered if there were any survivors he would have to take prisoner.

He reached the beach surrounding the cove and raced around it. Suddenly he slid to a stop with a gasp. In the water was a still figure, drifting on a piece of driftwood. It looked, from where he stood, like a female. He hesitated. Should he go in? Maybe she was an enemy that Eggman would want to question; a freedom fighter. Yeah, he could capture her and get all the credit. Sleet always tried to take it. Now it was Dingo's turn. Dingo rushed into the water and waded towards her. When it got deep he began to swim. Finally he reached her.

"Huh!" he exclaimed in confusion. "A weasel?" he wondered aloud. He summed her up. She looked familiar. Finally he pulled her from the wood. She groaned then began to try and struggle. "Easy Sheila, you'll be fine," he said, pulling her towards land. "At least for now," he added. As soon as he could stand, he picked her up bridal style, carrying her the rest of the way to shore.


	2. Fang's Secret

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: This story won't be nearly as long as my previous two. It's mainly just introducing more characters into my stories. I have siblings of my own, and personally, I can't keep children away from parents or siblings away from each other. There won't be too much action in this story either, but then again, I have more to add to it, so who knows. Enjoy.)

_**Fang's Secret**_

Sleet was waiting impatiently at the rendezvous point, arms crossed. What was _taking_ those two incompetents? Suddenly he heard Dingo call, "Sleet, hey Sleet!"

Sleet unfolded his arms and looked in the direction of the voice, instantly on guard. Dingo sounded like he had found something. Sure enough, as Dingo burst through into the clearing, Sleet saw a figure in his arms. His eyes hardened as he asked, "What is that?"

Dingo stopped and displayed the burden. Sleet gasped, eyes widening. "It's a weasel wolf mix mate. She looks just like Nack. Ya think she's a freedom fighter?"

Sleet looked at her in disbelief. It was like looking at a clone of the sniper! After a moment, Sleet replied, "I think that Fang hasn't told us everything."

Dingo looked curious, but just then Fang came from the woods, saying, "Nothing to report Sleet. I think we're alone." He looked ahead at his partners, rather team. He gasped, though, on seeing the girl. If he could have paled, he would have. "Nic!" he exclaimed in terror. "No, no, no, no, no!" he began, running towards them. He slid to a stop then demanded, "What did you do!"

"N-nothin' mate. I found her in a cove where a plane crash had happened," Dingo said, confused at the reaction.

"A plane crash? How, when?" Fang mused, half to himself.

Sleet suddenly shoved him back, saying, "Well, well, are we missing something here?"

"Can we talk later? She needs help," Nack pled.

"Talk," Sleet ordered.

Fang nervously looked to her as she moaned. Quickly he said, "Okay, okay, she… she's my big sister." He looked away, embarrassed.

"What!" Dingo exclaimed. Sleet didn't seem surprised.

"I never told you about her because, frankly, we can't stand each other, and that's putting it mildly," Nack admitted. "She's always been ahead of me, and I always tried to impress her to earn her respect. We've tried working together in the past, but it rarely worked well. We hardly keep in touch."

"You seem concerned now," Sleet remarked.

"Sleet, come on, give me a break. We might not get along, but, I mean, she's my sister. You know, blood is thicker than water and all that jazz," Fang whined.

"He's got a point mate," Dingo said.

Fang was looking worriedly at her. "Nack…" she suddenly moaned, her brother's voice barely breaking through her hazy thoughts. "Fang… little brother," she said, tossing her head as if trying to wake up, but not able to.

"I'm here Nic, I'm here," he said worriedly.

Sleet sighed then relented. "Let's get her to Robotnick. I'm safe in assuming he knows about her and just neglected to tell me?"

"Oh yeah," Nack confirmed.

"Hey, I just got it! Nic and Nack, Nic Nack!" Dingo exclaimed.

Sleet and Fang slapped their faces. "Come on you dolt!" Sleet ordered. With that, the three raced back to Eggman's ship.

They burst inside, Nack saying, "Eggman, we need a room."

Eggman whirled, startled, only to see Team Vile standing there, plus one. Eggman's eyes widened. "Nicolette?" he questioned, shocked to see her again after so long.

"You bet Docta. I found her in a cove, by the wreck of a plane. I thought she was a freedom fighter," Dingo said.

"By a plane wreck?" Eggman suspiciously asked, looking at Fang accusingly.

"He was just as surprised as we were your rotundness," Sleet said, catching Eggman's gaze at the weasel. Fang sighed in relief.

After a moment, Robotnick said, "Very well, get her into a room."

"Thank you sir," Nack quickly murmured. With that, Sleet led the way into a room.

Now Team Vile hovered over her, Nack sitting at her bedside, Dingo standing by her head, Sleet hanging back and watching suspiciously. "What was she doing here?" Sleet suddenly questioned.

Fang paused, straightening up, then began to think. What _was_ she doing here? After a moment he shook his head, saying, "I don't know. We'll have to ask when she wakes up. All I can tell you is that she's a bounty hunter too. Not as good at shooting as me, that's the one thing I beat her at, but she's a good shot. She doesn't have an air bike either. My guess is that somehow, back in Robotropolis or Knothole, or somewhere; somehow they've heard about the crash. She might have been hired to check it out and bring back pictures, a souvenir, or Eggman himself. I don't know how, though, after all this time, that suddenly someone from back then would know where to find him again. After Sonic stopped returning with his friends, they didn't know where he'd gone. Sally was crushed, so were the others, but they keep hoping he'll show up someday soon."

"_I_ know how they suddenly know," Sleet said in an icily calm and eerie voice, a hard glint in his eyes. The other two looked at him fearfully, then nervously at each other.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but how mate?" Dingo inquired.

"Aleena," Sleet finished.

"Sleet, think about that for a minute. How? If she had stayed in contact with them, she would have known Sonic was alive a long time ago," Fang said.

With that question, Sleet launched into a long narrative. "The royals were outlawed, separated. They dropped all contact with each other. Aleena disappeared form the face of Mobius. All through the Sonic Underground's crusade, she never once mentioned any of the royals, and they never mentioned her. For all they knew of each other, they could be dead. Chuck was roboticized, I remember, so was Jules according to Eggman, and she never heard of it, her own brothers. She wouldn't contact them for fear of Eggman, and after the incident she was too distraught to know what to do. Aleena and her brats looked for each other, but she couldn't go to Jules or Chuck or King Max, or any of them, because she had no clue where they were. Because she didn't know where they were, she couldn't check for Sonic where he was supposed to be. Even if she had, she wouldn't have found him, because he didn't return right away. He found Tails, remember, then the Knothole Freedom Fighters, then he left again with Tails and met the others, once in a while returning. Soon enough, though, he stopped going back and focused on his main battles with Eggman, and he never looked back. Sonic put his family behind him, thinking they were dead, but not his old friends or adoptive parents. Silver met them too, remember, and Aleena only just met Silver. She would have found out, by now, that finally, after all this these years; she could get in contact with her family again. She would have been overjoyed. Sonic would have told her everything that happened to her brother's and friend's over time. She would have gone through every emotion in the book. She would want more than ever to speak to them again. They'd heard nothing from her, and if Sonic was to be believed, they would think she was dead. Now, through Silver, she can speak to them again without putting them in danger. Eggman is _here_, not _there_. She would have told them everything. I foresee a return to origins in the near future. At some point it will happen. It's been a long time since Sonic's last visit to his roots."

"Too much explanation," Dingo moaned.

"You want us to inform Eggman of your enlightening?" Fang asked. "Nic isn't going to wake up for a while, it seems, and I need to walk around."

"You read my mind," Sleet replied. "I'll watch the weasel. I mean, your sister."

"Right mate," Dingo said as he and Nack left.

Sleet sat down with a bored expression to watch. Just as he was about to drift off, though, he heard her groan. He perked up, watching her. She tossed her head a moment, then all at once her eyes opened on him. He stared coldly back. She closed her eyes. Suddenly she sat up with a gasp, realizing what she'd seen. She looked at him and demanded, "Who are you!"

"None of your business," he replied.

She settled down and cocked her head. "The last thing I remember is grabbing onto some driftwood after a crash, then blacking out. Then there were arms pulling me from the wood. I tried to struggle, thinking I would drown, but a voice told me to calm down. The person brought me to shore…" she said in confusion. She looked at him curiously, then said, "Your voice sounded more Australian I thought. And you felt more, well, _bulky_, than you look."

Sleet was confused for barely a second, before he understood. She thought _he'd_ rescued her. "That's probably because it wasn't me," he corrected.

"Then who…?" she began.

Just then, though, the doors slid open, and Dingo and Fang entered, talking. They stopped, however, on seeing Nic sitting up. "Nicolette, you're okay!" Nack exclaimed, hurrying to her.

"Nack, bro?" she asked, as her brother embraced her. Not knowing what to do, she lightly held him back. She'd thought she'd heard his voice, but she couldn't see how. She thought he was still back around Knothole somewhere. Well why wouldn't she think so? She hadn't talked to him for a long time. She didn't bother keeping tabs on him. She shoved him back and demanded, "What's going on? Where am I? Who are these guys Fang?"

"Glad to see your awake Sheila," the big orange dingo suddenly said. She froze and looked at him. That voice… Had _he_ rescued her? "I thought you were a gonna when I swam out to get ya," the dingo continued.

"That was you?" she asked, confused.

"Lay back down, sis, and we'll explain everything," Fang said; and explain they did.

Nic listened in shock. She could hardly process it all. It was now late. She was on Eggman's newest base surrounded by her brother and two others, Sleet and Dingo, who had all apparently been put into a team called Team Vile. She liked that Sleet and Dingo were bounty hunters too. She'd heard of their adventure, or adventures, rather. She summed them up. Dingo, not much to say. He rescued her and he was the brawn of the group, hands down. Stupid, but useful, and lovable. If not for him, she'd be dead. Fang had said he was a flight member. Apparently Sleet thought highly enough of him. More highly than he'd thought of most. Sleet… now _there_ was an interesting one. She had been instantly intrigued, hung off his every word, and to be fair, she smirked, he wasn't bad looking. He was the leader of the team too. She'd like to get to know _him_ better.

"So you've finally found a team you can actually stand and haven't betrayed yet, huh Nack," she said to her brother.

"Bark and Bean weren't _that_ bad," Nack half-heartedly defended with a shrug. "The weasel group was meh."

She was about to reply when Eggman suddenly entered, saying, "Now Nicolette dear, tell us, what exactly are you doing here?" He had heard Nack and Sleet's guesses. He only needed it validated.

Sure enough, Nic replied, "Believe it or not, I was hired to check out a mysteriously Eggman like object that had fallen from the sky somewhere around here. You'll never guess who hired me Fang…"

Fang's eyes widened. "You're kidding. She asked for your help? Sally. Princess Sally?"

"You got it. By the way, she was asking about you little brother," Nic teased, knowing exactly how much it would bug him.

Nack rolled his eyes then focused on his gun, seemingly indifferent. "Good, let her know all she wants to know," he muttered, surprising her by not instantly losing it.

"She ain't a favorite of yours mate?" Dingo asked.

He snorted, then replied, "I have a bullet with her name on it, literally. It's carved out of silver with diamond lettering outlined with gold. It reads: To Princess Sally Alicia Acorn. With all the love in my heart, straight through yours. Forever thinking of you in your grave, Fang the Sniper, aka Nack the Weasel." He pulled it out and showed it to them. Sleet and Dingo were looking at him in shock. "What? The spoiled brat has it coming. She's messed around with me a few times too many."

"Sounds like another Sleet and Aleena," Dingo remarked.

Fang nearly gagged. "Oh heck no! It ain't nothin' like them! I swore revenge on her. I beg every immortal I know to kill her every time she enters my mind."

"So do I," Sleet grimaced.

"_He_ understands," Fang said, jerking a thumb Sleet's way. "He hates Aleena now."

"Hah, that's not the reason. It's nothing like Sleet and Aleena, because Fang wouldn't be almost executed. They'd _have_ a happily ever after," Nic taunted her brother.

"Why don't you just leave!" Nack barked.

Ignoring him, Nic continued, "Anyway, Sally's parents, Tails' parents, and Sonic's parents, well, I guess his aunt and uncle actually, all told her that after all this time they finally got a tip from Silver about Eggman being somewhere around here. She hired me to come check it out and, if you were alive, Doctor, to bring you back with any new recruit you had."

"Will you?" Sleet dangerously challenged.

She looked up at him, making intrigued and interested eyes at him. He backed up, slightly worried by the look. "Now Sleet, why would I turn in my brother? Blood is thicker than water after all. Besides, I like it here." Mm, she liked the sound of his name in her mouth. She winked at him. Sleet looked blankly at her.

Nack raised an eyebrow at his sister. She usually wasn't so obvious. In fact, he didn't recall her ever having an interest. After a moment, Sleet recovered then harrumphed, saying to Eggman, "Aleena, just as I said." Nic clenched her jaw coldly on hearing Sonic's mother's name.

"What's wrong Nic?" Dingo asked.

"Nothing Dingo," she replied. She became confused once more as she looked back on all the new information. Sonic had a mother, and siblings. Jules and Bernadette weren't his birth parents after all? She'd thought something was a little off there. Aleena was his mother's name… Sleet's one time lover, a story she still couldn't digest, and actually chose to omit from all her new knowledge. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't even _met_ the woman and she already hated her.

"I suppose you'll be leaving now," Eggman said, breaking into her thoughts. She looked up at him, mildly startled, then answered after a moment, "Oh, I thought I'd be allowed to stay for a bit. After all Doctor Robotnick, you know I can be of some use."

"No way! You can take a hike!" Nack shot, instantly feeling threatened for his position in Team Vile. "Teams can only have three members!"

"Then maybe one should be replaced," Nic sneered.

"Unlikely," Sleet flatly said.

She pouted at him, saying, "Oh Sleet, come on."

He rolled his eyes, unmoved, then replied, "I suppose you could be of _some_ use, but I wouldn't start considering myself part of the team if I were you."

"You obey every word Sleet and Eggman say, no arguments Sheila," Dingo stated firmly.

"You had to use the word obey?" she asked coldly.

"Like a dog," Fang supported. "The same goes for us too."

She huffed then replied, "Fine. I'm not a part of the team, but I'm here to help when you need me."

"Excellent, we could use a double agent," Eggman said. "Let's see how this all plays out, shall we? I have a feeling that things are going to get quite interesting." He began to laugh. Sleet instantly copied him, followed by the others, and the island was filled with evil laughter.


	3. Do You Remember?

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Now, I've never read the comic's, only one of them, so forgive me if I don't get the characters in character. From my story Painful Memories, then this one, that some reviewers would like to see certain pairing hints brought in. Well, I'm putting up two chapters today, this being the first, so hang tight, and enjoy.)

_**Do You Remember?**_

The royal family had rarely been apart, spending every last minute they could together. There was no Eggman threat, no threat from anywhere else. They felt completely at ease. "Too at ease," Shadow stated to Teams Dark, Rose, Chaotix, and Sol. "Almost like they've forgotten that they came together too soon. The prophecy strictly forbade that, didn't it?" Shadow continued, directing the question at Vanilla, whom he had just heard come up behind them in the park where they lounged.

Vanilla looked at him, then out into the distance. After a moment she replied, "It was Aleena's greatest fear that if she acted too soon, the prophecy would fail to come true, and her children would be killed."

"Well she's forgotten _that_ little detail," Vector said from his place lounging on a lawn chair he'd brought along from the Chaotix Detective Agency.

"She's too overcome with joy at being reunited with her long lost children," Amy excitedly said, as if this was all a dream come true and everything would turn out perfectly.

"That's what bothers me," Shadow declared.

"If the prophecy said that they would be the ones to defeat Eggman, and they met too soon, then the world as we know it could be doomed," Silver declared, backing Shadow up. "I mean, for all we know this could have been the inciting incident that led up to the predicament me and Blaze's world was in."

"That's getting a little grim, ain't it?" Marine asked fearfully.

"You can never be too pessimistic," Espio declared, leaning against a tree.

"Espy, honey, if people went by that policy the world would be even sadder and depressing than it is now," Rouge said, teasing the chameleon from a tree branch above him.

"Well what are we supposed to do about it, tell them to separate again? That would destroy them," Blaze said.

"Aleena could take it. She's had practice with tragedy. It's the kids I'm worried about," Vector stated.

Vanilla looked quickly at Vector. Did he remember? Did he remember anything at all about back then? He had just said that Aleena had practice with tragedy. How could he presume to know that? Maybe, somewhere in his subconscious, he remembered. The three had once been good friends. Should she remind him? Why should she keep it quiet? Vector should be allowed to remember.

"Leave them alone. They're happy now," Cream said.

"As long as they don't mess that up," Charmy said, oblivious to the full meaning of that.

"They'll think of something to fix any potential mess, don't worry," Shade declared.

"No threat predicted towards Council of Four. Chances of prophecy failing, low," Omega rattled.

"Low or non-existent?" Shadow challenged. No one could answer.

"Vector dear, I need to talk to you for a minute," Vanilla suddenly said, abruptly changing the subject.

Vector looked curiously up at her. "Me? Why?" he asked.

"Just come," she firmly said. Her eyes were serious as she motioned for him to follow. He became slightly worried that he'd done something wrong, then rose and followed her onto a walking trail.

For a while they strolled in silence, but soon she stopped. He asked immediately, "What's wrong? What did I do?"

She turned to face him directly, eyes tired. "Do you remember?" she suddenly asked.

He looked confused for a moment. "Do I remember what?" he ignorantly asked.

"What did you mean when you said that Aleena had, had her practice with tragedy?" Vanilla questioned.

Vector opened his mouth to reply, but it closed as his expression clouded in confusion. What _did_ he mean? "Well, she was forced to give up her children," Vector replied. "Wait, that doesn't sound right," he mused aloud.

"Do you remember Robotropolis, when it was called Mobotropolis?" Vanilla pursued.

Vector slowly looked up at her, eyes thoughtful. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Do you remember when the royals ruled?" Vanilla pressed, ignoring the comment. "Think Vector. You were four, remember? I was ten."

"I've only known you since childhood, of course I know that," Vector replied. "The queen died that year. Her old man died a few months later. Before he passed away he pronounced Aleena as Queen…" All at once he trailed off, actually realizing what he'd just said. "He… he pronounced Aleena as queen…" Vector repeated, eyes slowly brightening in realization. "Wait a Mobius minute; we… we had become friends with her after we met her in the graveyard where the old queen was buried. We became friends, then she was pronounced queen, then… then she was captured by…" He stopped abruptly.

"Vector?" Vanilla asked.

The crocodile's eyes had grown as wide as saucers. "She was captured by Sleet meat and Dingo, and some other wolf guy named Drago! The one wolf, Drago, he tried to-to hurt her. We helped get rid of him. Then there was a wedding… Oh my Chaos!" Vector veritably yelled.

"Vector, hush!" Vanilla ordered.

"Hush? H_ush_! You want me to _hush_! I just remembered, after all these years, how close we were to Aleena! I just remembered I knew Sonic's mother! I just remembered that she was married to _Sleet_! How can I hush!" he yelled, almost hysterical.

She slapped him viciously, then hissed, "Keep quiet, they don't know! Only Shadow, Espio, and Silver know that they were once lovers! No one else can know, do you understand? For Aleena's sake, no one else must know!"

"Vector, what's going on?" Charmy asked. The two turned, only to see the others looking at them confused.

Vector gaped at them. After a moment he replied, "Uh, n-nothing. Nothing at all. I'm, um, just going to go for a walk." His eyes flicked over to Shadow, Silver, and Espio. The three caught the haunted look. Instantly they knew that he knew. Why Vanilla had told him, though, they had no clue. They trusted that it was for a reason, for Vector wasn't betraying it. It was rare the crocodile took anything serious enough to deem unspeakable, then actually try to _lie_ about knowing anything.

"Uh, okay then, as long as you're okay," Amy said curiously. They watched suspiciously as Vector walked down the path.

"He, uh, forgot something I need to give him," Vanilla quickly excused. Without hanging around for questions, she followed him.

Vector wandered through the city in shock. Vanilla strode beside him. After a time he said, "I don't believe it."

"Vector, I know it's hard to understand, but I felt that you had the right to be reminded," Vanilla said.

"Reminded that I was part of the first generation of heroes as well as this one? To be reminded of a friendship I lost sixteen years ago, with the mother of a friend from now that I had no idea was related to her?" he asked.

"Do you regret remembering?" Vanilla asked.

After a moment, Vector replied, "No…"

Suddenly a blur shot by them then returned, coming to a stop. "Yo Vector, where ya going pal?" the person asked, happier than Vector had seen him in a while.

"Sonic, uh, we were just going to find you and your family," Vector replied quickly.

"Well we're right here big dude," another voice said. Vector and Vanilla looked up to see Manic on a hover board, looking down at them. "Have you seen Jet, by any chance? I'm itching for an afternoon ride."

"Oh yeah, you get together with another thief and you expect us to believe you'll just go for an afternoon ride?" Sonia's voice said as she roared up on a pink motorbike, obviously not believing a word.

"Aw come on sis, give me a break. We won't do anything dumb," Manic replied.

"Just try to stay out of trouble bro," Sonic said, looking coldly at him.

"I know, I know, we're heroes, not thieves, blah, blah, blah. Don't worry about me sibs," Manic said.

"As long as you're back before midnight," a woman's voice said firmly. Vector and Vanilla quickly looked to her.

"Aw, mom, come on," Manic complained.

"Before midnight Manic," she repeated.

"Fine," Manic sulked.

"While we're telling you our plans, mother, I'm going out with Wave to shop for her mechanical supplies. I need some things for my bike anyway," Sonia declared.

"Same rule for you Sonia," Aleena stated. She looked at Vector and Vanilla with a hopeless smile. She saw, though, in their eyes, that they needed to talk to her. She frowned.

"Come on, let's go slow pokes," Sonic said. I'll race you to the park.

"You're on," Manic and Sonia replied, instantly taking up the challenge.

"Go ahead you three. I'll join Vector and Vanilla," Aleena said. The triplets never bothered with a goodbye, just took off at top speed.

Aleena watched after them lovingly. "You have no idea how desperately I wish I could go back in time and raise them as I should have been able to. This is all so new, so wonderful. Finally I have the chance to be their mother, and they don't need me anymore," Aleena said to the crocodile and rabbit, bittersweet tears in her eyes.

"They'll always need you Aleena," Vanilla assured.

Aleena smiled softly. She then looked at them, saying, "Vector, how nice to see you."

He looked up at her, eyes wide in recognition. All of a sudden everything had come rushing back. All at once he grabbed her in a bear hug demanding in sudden joy, "Why are you being so cordial to such an old friend?"

She was shocked. All at once she realized what this meant. Without thinking she held him tightly back in disbelief. She understood, and she felt excitement and happiness fill her. She exclaimed, beaming happily, "Vector, you remembered! You were only four! I thought you had forgotten!"

"Vanilla probed my memory," Vector replied. "Aleena, it's been years! I can't believe it!" he said, putting her down but holding her arms, looking joyfully at her, almost bouncing up and down. For a moment she saw the little crocodile boy from back then and laughed.

"Too long my old friend," she replied.

"Long enough for me to fit into both generations," he stated solemnly. "It was you, and me, and Vanilla, and… and Sleet and Dingo that one time."

"If you want to group us together, you can add Argus, Lady Windermere, Titus, Countess Katarina, Ferrell, Jules, Bernadette, Chuck, Winniham, Max, Alicia, Amadeus, and Rosemary. But then, you and Vanilla didn't know any of my old acquaintances well, and we were never the group you have now; nor were we heroes like you," Aleena said, reminiscing.

All at once a sad aura came over her. Vanilla and Vector watched her in concern. "Aleena, what's wrong?" Vanilla asked.

Aleena took a deep breath then replied, "It's been so long… I lost contact with them all, even my own brothers. Sonic told me what has happened over the years. If only I had known… Oh Jules… he had been mortally wounded, then forced to remain a robot or die? Chaos I should have been there. I would have been there in a heartbeat. If I had lost my brothers... And our people and everything that happened to them." Vanilla and Vector looked sadly down.

"You couldn't have done anything to change it, and things relatively worked out in the end," Vanilla stated reassuringly.

"At least you were able to contact them again with Silver," Vector remarked sympathetically.

"The hardest thing I've ever had to do," Aleena said. "It was as if I was suddenly there with them, thanks to my own abilities mixed with Silver's. I could see their images, hear their voices. We were all in tears, but they thought it was a dream. They believed I was dead. They hadn't heard anything about my children except for Sonic. I couldn't tell them anything except that I was still alive, that it wasn't a dream, and about where Eggman crashed, though I couldn't tell them the whole story. Then I had to leave them again. Silver was weakening. The poor thing could hardly walk straight in that period of time. I need to go to them and actually speak to them, feel them… I miss them so, so much."

"One day we'll get to," Vector replied.

"Not all of us have to go. Sonic need only to tell me the directions and I can go visit them on my own," Aleena said with a smile. "Things can be relatively normal, now that Eggman has focused his attentions here and my people are relatively safe."

Vector and Vanilla shot uneasy looks at each other. She was expecting too much. After a moment they looked back, Vector asking, "What about the prophecy?"

They predicted her reaction, in all honesty, though they hoped they wouldn't see it, for that would mean she had forgotten. It wasn't a surprise to see her stiffen as if just remembering. It wasn't a surprise to see her waver, though it worried her friends. Vector quickly moved to steady her. "Th-the prophecy…" she repeated in a daze. All at once she remembered that they weren't supposed to be together, that they, more likely than not, had reunited too soon, no thanks to Sleet's deceit. "No…" she gasped.

"Aleena, calm down. What's done is done. It might not have been too early…" Vanilla began.

"I have to go!" the queen interrupted, not thinking clearly.

"Aleena, it's too late now! You've reunited. Leaving again won't change anything. It will only devastate your children more! You _can't_ leave them now Aleena!" Vanilla firmly said.

"She's right Aleena. Let it go. Even Omega doesn't think it was too early," Vector said, repeating the reassuring thought.

"But what if it was?" Aleena demanded, fear in her eyes. "What are the chances of Team Vile's lie turning out to be truth?

"We'll do everything we can to prevent anything from happening to your children," Vanilla firmly said. "There are freedom fighters and allies everywhere. They will do _everything_ in their power to protect their ruler's. The prophecy may still come true, with all the alliances that have been formed over the years."

"Just don't think about it Aleena. Think of your children," Vector encouraged, in a rare insightful moment.

"You have them back. You can be their mother again. Don't leave them alone," Vanilla supported.

"Sure their father's a no good traitor bent on destroying you all, but you don't need his help," Vector said.

Aleena, if she could have, would have paled, looking at Vector in horror. "Vector, Sleet wasn't their father," Vanilla corrected calmly, "was he Aleena?" She looked at her friend for confirmation. Aleena looked shocked. "Aleena, was he?" Vanilla asked, worried that the crocodile had accidentally scarred Aleena with the mere insinuation, or that Vector had hit home.

"C-Chaos no!" Aleena suddenly blurted out. Vanilla sighed in relief. She was too vehement in her denial for it to have happened.

"Wait, so, he was your husband, but not their father?" Vector asked, confused.

"She married again, remember? To save Sleet's life," Vanilla stated.

"Oh yeah, for all the good _that_ did him," Vector recalled. Aleena cringed.

"Vector!" Vanilla chastised quickly.

"What?" he asked. Suddenly, though, he remembered. "Oops, sorry Aleena. I'm still getting my memories sorted out," Vector apologized. "But really, what are the chances she'd get pregnant the night of her second wedding?"

"Who said it was the night of my wedding?" Aleena asked.

"Wasn't it?" Vector asked.

Aleena hesitated, then replied, "Yes. Never mind all that, though. It's fine. Let's just go back."

"Of course dear," Vanilla agreed sympathetically, and the three headed back to the park.


	4. Plans For Reunion

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Second up today. Most pairing hints in any chapter or story I've ever done. Enjoy.)

_**Plans For Reunion**_

"Finally it's finished, look at it Sleet!" Eggman crowed, spreading his arms apart to show off the newly repaired Flying Egg Fortress.

"Oh excellent sir, we can start planning immediately. The Sonic Underground and their little friends will never find us here," Sleet replied, eyes gleaming deviously, grinning maliciously. He laughed evilly, Eggman joining him.

"How are we gonna make it seem like we've left?" Dingo asked, as the two laughed.

"The heats died down Dingo, my friend. It's not like it'll be all over the news that this fortress is repaired. They won't even know. It's hidden in this jungle. For all they'll be able to tell, we flew off," Nack replied, grinning.

"I'll just have to alleviate Sally's suspicious sooner than later, then we're home free," Nic added.

"Oh Nicolette!" Eggman suddenly called in a singsong voice.

She turned to look at him and Sleet curiously. "Yes Doctor Eggman?" she asked.

"I have a job for you," Eggman replied. "You said you wanted to make yourself useful, didn't you?"

"Yes sir," she quickly replied.

"Good, that's what I like to hear," Eggman stated. Sleet reached behind him and picked something up. He tossed it to Nic, as Robotnick continued, "Take this jet pack and go spy on the Council of Four and Sonic Heroes, but mainly the council. I must know what they're up to."

Sleet tossed her something else. She caught it, and the wolf said, "Take that communicator, and keep in touch."

"You don't have to ask me twice darlin'," Nic replied with a smirk.

"Keep me posted on her finding's Sleet," Eggman ordered. "And if I find out you've omitted anything of interest… well, need I continue?"

"Oh please don't trouble yourself your brilliantness, I understand perfectly," Sleet replied with an understanding, slightly fearful, yet submissive expression.

"Good," Eggman said. With that he walked out of the room.

Sleet scowled after him. "Imbecile," he muttered.

"In what universe? Robotnick is a genius," Fang replied bluntly.

"Humph," Sleet said. He looked to Nic, adding, "Well, what are you waiting for? Don't just stand there, get going."

"Ya might wanna hurry Sheila, he's got a hard kick," Dingo warned.

"Never hurt a lady Dingo," Sleet said coldly.

"Oy, since when do ya go by that mate?" Dingo asked.

Sleet face palmed, then yelled, "Muffin brain, that's not the point!"

"Hey, I'm gone, I'm gone, no need to fight," Nic said, breaking it up quickly. She strapped on the jet pack then flew off towards Station Square. Keep an eye on the Council, huh? She could do that. Maybe she could even send a message to Sally about Eggman being gone while she was there, just to throw the heat off of her. After all the stories she'd heard, she kind of wanted to see the city too.

"The food is ready!" Vanilla called out to the others in the park. Everyone looked over to her and hurried to the picnic tables. Aleena had just set the places, wherever they could fit.

"All right, like, let's chow down," Manic said, leaping onto the bench, licking his lips.

"Manners Manic, please," Sonia said.

"Who needs manners?" Sonic asked. He and Manic began to scarf down the food making Sonia looked disgusted.

"Oh gross! Mother!" Sonia yelled.

Aleena giggled, then said, "That's enough you two."

Manic and Sonic stopped, laughing at their sister who still looked disgusted. "Lighten up sis," Sonic taunted.

"Enough, now eat," Aleena said.

Sonia sat down, harrumphing, then reached for her fork. Suddenly, though, it raised on its own and took some food. "Huh?" Sonia asked in confusion. The minute her mouth was open, however, the fork went in, and she took it, still confused. Eyes lightening in realization, she frowned, swallowed, then ordered, "Espio, knock it off!"

The chameleon appeared with a rare smirk on his face. "Here I thought you liked being hand fed princess," he lightly teased.

"You been taking Sonic and Manic lessons?" Sonia asked. He rolled his eyes then leapt back to the Chaotix table. "Hey, I didn't say I _didn't_ like it!" she called to him. He ignored her. "Boys," she grumbled. "Maybe I should go join Wave, Marine, and Tikal."

"Someone's fired up," Manic remarked.

"We can fix that, the lake's nearby," Sonic mischievously grinned.

"Don't even think about it," Aleena affectionately said to her son's, defending her daughter.

"Aw mom," Sonic and Manic complained. She held up her hand, silencing them without a word. They pouted.

"Maybe I should go eat with Tails and Knux," Sonic complained.

"Yeah, Jet and Storm look like they're having a competition," Manic stated, eyes sparkling.

"All right, but before you go, Sonic, you've been back and forth from Knothole and Mobotropolis often enough, so I've been told," Aleena began.

Sonic stopped eating, fork halfway to his mouth, then replied in confusion and hesitation, "Uh, yeah, why?"

"I need the directions from here to Mobotropolis or Knothole, either or," Aleena replied.

"How come mother?" Sonia asked.

"You have been reunited with your brother's, my dear. It's time for me to reunite with mine," Aleena replied, looking down at her food, an affectionate and weary smile on her face.

"Brother's?" Manic asked. Sonic and Sonia looked equally confused.

Aleena took a deep breath, then replied, "Chuck never lied about being your Uncle Sonic. You just weren't Jules' child."

Sonic spewed out a mouthful of juice, and exclaimed, "Wait, dad and Uncle Chuck are your brother's! They're royalty?"

"They forsook the throne, abandoning the chance to become Kings, but I suppose, in a way they're like royalty," Aleena admitted. "You told me Charles was knighted, as well."

Sonic was stunned. "I can't believe it…" he murmured, Sonia and Manic looking confused. After a moment, Sonic continued, "So you're going to go see Uncle Chuck and dad?"

"Uncle Jules to you now bro," Manic said.

"He can be Uncle Jules to you, but it's not like we even _have_ a father, so to me he'll always be dad," Sonic replied.

"Just like your Aunty Bernadette will always be mom?" Aleena said with a sad smile, ignoring the father remark.

"_You're_ my mother," Sonic said in a rare sincere tone, looking up at his mother. "But yeah, I'll always see her as a mom."

"So, you'll be leaving us for a while then," Sonia asked, eyes disappointed. "How long will you be gone mother?"

She smiled sympathetically at her children, and replied, "Don't worry darlings. I'll come back to you. I can't run anymore. What's been done has been done, and too soon or not, we can't change it. I won't be gone long my dears." All at once the triplets remembered that they may have been reunited too soon. Their eyes widened in shock, and they looked fearfully at their mother, unsure whether to trust that she'd be back or not.

"We just got you back though," Manic complained.

She caught the hidden message; the one they wouldn't speak aloud. You're going to abandon us again, aren't you? Don't leave us mother, please, don't. She had to alleviate her fears. Solemnly, trying to reassure them, Aleena promised, "I know, and you won't lose me again."

They looked as if they were torn between believing her and not. Sonic perked up suddenly, however, saying, "Hey, wait, I've got an idea! Sonia and Manic haven't met our relatives, _or_ my old friends! Why don't you take us with you?"

"Yeah, mom, we've only heard stories about them. Shouldn't we finally get to meet our real relatives in person?" Sonia quickly asked, catching onto Sonic's plan quickly. Keep her in sight, and they wouldn't lose her.

"Not only that, get this, people have been being derobotocized, Lady Windermere and Ferrell, the ones that took you two in, might be normal again! And Argus and Titus must be too!" Sonic added. "My first foster parents were, I remember. I could hardly believe it."

"No way bro, are you serious!" Manic demanded.

"Buttnick said he'd outgrown robotocizing," Sonic confirmed. "He didn't bother to start it up again, at least not like he once did. Mom, can we go, please!" Sonic pleaded.

"Yeah mom, let us go," Manic begged.

"Oh please mother, take us too! We want to meet our Uncles and Aunt!" Sonia implored.

"Hold on, hold on!" Aleena shouted over the noise. They quieted down. "We can't just go off like this without a word to the others. Sonic, what about your friends? What if Eggman learns we've returned and heads back to Robotropolis or Knothole?"

"Mom, come on, there are freedom fighters everywhere around there. Sally, Bunnie, Rotor, Antoine, need I go on? If we go to Mobotropolis, we might even get to see Cyrus and Trevor too, and Renee, and Mindy, and the not so great Bartleby, hey Sonia?" Sonic said, nudging his sister. Sonia blushed, looking away. "They've handled Eggman before!"

"Not like this, though," Aleena warned.

"Eggman's _our_ problem now, mom. I won't drag them into this when me and my friends can handle them fine _without_ Sally and the other's helping. This isn't her fight anymore, none of theirs. It's only ours and the Sonic Heroes now. They can stay out of it. I don't even _want_ their help anymore, unless things get really bad," Sonic stated in another serious moment, resolved not to involve his old friends in his affairs anymore.

"Like they did on his last attempt?" his mother challenged.

Sonic's cocky grin fell, and he looked away defensively, saying, "We handled it, didn't we?"

"No. We, and all of your friends, are alive now because Sleet decided to play hero to get revenge on an all-powerful robot that dared to betray him," Aleena reminded. "Do you think for a split second that he would do it again if there was nothing he could gain by it?" Sonic, Manic and Sonia looked at each other uncertainly. Their mother sighed, letting the anger fall from her tone, and added, "I just want to be careful, kids. I don't want Eggman spoiling everything. Now what will we do about your friends here? If we _all_ leave, Eggman will definitely be suspicious."

"If we're only going to be gone a little while, what's the big deal? I'll tell Tails or Knuckles that we're going on a vacation or to a family reunion or something, that way they won't beg to come," Sonic replied.

Aleena looked around at the hopeful faces of her children. After a while she sighed, saying, "All right, you win. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Tell Tails and Knuckles and the rest of your friends whatever you're going to tell them."

"Yeah!" Sonic exclaimed.

"All right!" Manic said.

"Thank you mother, you're the best!" Sonia cried. Turning to her brothers she added, "Okay, we stick with the family reunion story."

"Gotcha," Manic replied as he leapt onto his hover board. "Yo, Jet!"

"Hey Tails, Knux, hold up!" Sonic called to his two friends.

"Oh girls!" Sonia called, racing to where the girls were gathering. Aleena watched after them with an affectionate shake of her head.

"What are they so excited about?" Vector suddenly asked.

"We're going on a trip. A family reunion, of sorts," Aleena replied.

"Oh," Vector said. "Okay then." He headed back to the Chaotix.

"Care to elaborate Aleena?" Vanilla asked.

Aleena smiled at her friend, answering, "We're going back to Robotropolis and Knothole for a little while. They want to meet their family and my friend's, as well as Sonic's."

"Why the secrecy?" Vanilla asked.

"So the others won't beg to go, and Sonic will actually be inclined to return here," Aleena seriously stated, recalling the stories she'd been told by her son. Vanilla seemed to understand, as she nodded.

"Well, well, well, they're going back to Knothole for a visit, are they?" Nic asked from her position in a tree, watching them closely. She pulled out the communication device saying, "Come in Sleet."

His face appeared and he asked, "What is it?"

"The Council of Four is planning a little visit to Knothole and Mobotropolis. Seems they triplets want to meet their true family and their old friends, especially Sonic's," Nic replied. "Eggman will be interested to know this."

Sleet said nothing a moment, obviously thinking about something. After a moment he said, "He would _like_ to, but he won't. Not yet. Not until Sonic returns here with his family. Follow them Nic. You can get your message to Sally too."

"You're not going to tell him? Sleet, if he figures out that you kept it from him…" Nic began.

"Leave everything to me," Sleet assured. "Change of plans. Forget watching the Council of Four. Eggman can think they're his all he wants, but they're _mine_. Focus on the freedom fighters in Knothole. Tell me when the royals are returning though."

"What are you planning, that I should stay there and not come back?" Nic questioned.

"Never mind; and I never said you couldn't come back, either. Just watch the Knothole freedom fighters. We can't have them discovering where we are now, can we?" With that he signed off without a goodbye. She harrumphed then looked down at the picnic scene again.

"So, to Knothole and Robotropolis once more, huh?" she asked aloud. "This should be interesting."

"Hey Tails, Knux, hold up!" Sonic called.

Tails and Knuckles turned curiously. "True Blue," Knuckles acknowledged. "What's up?" he questioned.

"Look, me and my sibs and mom want to get together with Uncle Chuck and my dad and mom for a reunion," Sonic said.

"You mean Jules and Bernadette," Tails corrected.

"Mom and dad," Sonic replied firmly. Tails grinned, shrugging.

"So, you're going back to Knothole?" Knuckles questioned, feeling his stomach churn. There was a certain girl back there that he was a little afraid to face again. "Wh-what about Sally?" Knuckles questioned, trying to convince Sonic away from it, knowing Sonic would understand.

"Hey, chill Knucklehead, you're not invited," Sonic said sympathetically. "You won't have to face Julie-Su anytime soon." Knuckles sighed in relief, yet the feeling wouldn't go away.

"Oh boy, when do we leave?" Tails excitedly questioned.

"Uh, you aren't invited either little bro," Sonic replied.

"Huh?" Tails asked confused. "Well my mom and dad are back there too," Tails tried to protest. "I miss them Sonic."

"I know Tails, but this is something my family has to face alone," Sonic replied. "Next time you can come. Actually, you can go whenever you want, just not this time."

Tails' eyes lit in understanding. "Oh… Oh! I get it," he said, any trace of disappointment gone. "They're your mom's brother's, aren't they?"

"What!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"You nailed it. We'll be back in a few days, don't worry. Eggman's not going anywhere," Sonic declared certainly.

Tails and Knuckles looked at each other, then at Sonic, replying, "Okay."

"Thanks guys," Sonic said. "And try to make sure the others don't follow. See ya Knuckles, Tails." With that he zoomed off.

"Yo, Jet!" Manic called, running up to the Babylon Rogues, minus Wave who was with the girls at the moment.

"Manic, what's up?" Jet questioned, smiling. "Up for another race? Me and Storm were just about to blow this park and have some real fun."

"Oh most definitely dude, but look, tomorrow me and my family are heading to Knothole. Mom's brothers are there. You'll never believe it. Sonic's uncle and dad are mom's siblings!" Manic replied.

"Are you kidding?" Jet asked, shocked.

"So Sonic's uncle really was his uncle, and that would mean that, uh, Sonic's foster parents are really his aunt and uncle?" Storm asked.

"And ours," Manic said. "Mom wants to see her brother's again and bring me and Sonia to meet our real family. Besides that, our foster parents are probably derobotocized by now. We can see them again! It'll be a family reunion!"

"Let me guess, we're supposed to stay here and make sure Buttmeister doesn't try anything funny while you're gone," Jet said.

"You bet man. We'll only be there for a few days," Manic replied.

"We hope so," Storm seriously replied. "Sonic likes to disappear for a long time."

"That's another reason mom wants the rest of you here. So Sonic's not inclined to not come back," Manic seriously explained.

"I'll challenge him to a race and he'll come back," Jet assured.

"Dude, don't you always lose to him?" Manic asked.

"Okay, time for you to leave," Jet stated, angrily pointing elsewhere. Manic laughed and ran off.

"Oh girls," Sonia called, waving at the group as she met them.

"Sonia, are we still on for the shopping trip?" Wave asked.

"You bet sister," Sonia replied.

"Shopping trip?" Amy asked, interested.

"It's not something you'd be into Amy. We're shopping for bike parts and tools," Wave said.

"You're going shopping and not for clothes?" Amy asked.

"Weird, I know, but I have enough clothes for now," Sonia said.

"You know, I could just steal them for you. I don't see why you're not trying to just take them Wave," Rouge casually remarked from her place on a branch.

"I'll look you up when I'm after jewels," Wave replied.

"Mm, sounds good," Rouge replied, eyes gleaming.

"Something else is on your mind, Sonia," Blaze remarked, summing Sonic's sister up.

"Well, yeah. Mother, my brothers, and I are planning a family reunion in a day or two, because Uncle Chuck and Uncle Jules are mother's brothers, and we just wanted to tell you guys that you don't need to come along. We'll be back in a few days," Sonia declared.

"That's what Sonic always says," Tikal remarked seriously, after the others snapped out of the surprise of hearing that Chuck and Jules were really related to them.

"This time he's serious. It's another reason we want the rest of you to stay behind," Sonia said.

"So he don't feel inclined to stay, right Sonia," Marine questioned.

Sonia smiled at the little girl, replying, "Right."

"So you're going to Knothole," Cream stated uncertainly.

"Uh, yeah," Sonia said, curious as to the tone.

"Hmm," Shade remarked. "Sonia, there are people in Knothole that Sonic cares about too. Friends he might not want to leave again for a while. Then there's Sally…"

"No way, Sonic's over Sally! Me and him are destined to be," Amy vehemently protested.

"Sure pinky, sure," Rouge remarked.

"Shut it Rouge!" Amy barked. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at Sonic, and she added, "Excuse me girls, I have something to do," Amy growled, drawing her peko peko hammer.

Sonia watched after her in surprise. "Ooh, poor Sonic," Wave remarked, cringing.

"Amy wouldn't hurt him," Sonia said uncertainly. Rouge burst into laughter. Blaze's mouth twitched. Cream was smiling at her with a look that seemed to convey the fact that she thought Sonia naïve. Strange, coming from the rabbit girl.

"Humph, go ahead and laugh," Sonia sulked. She looked over the others, eyes falling on Shadow. He was heading off into the park somewhere. She'd better catch him and tell him about the plans too. "Excuse me girls, I have to do something," she vaguely said. With that she raced after Shadow. The others watched after her curiously.

"Sonic!" Amy called, running towards the blue blur.

Sonic gasped, paling, "Amy!" he exclaimed, looking back. "What's up?"

She slid to a stop, holding her hammer at him, and demanding, "You're going to Knothole?"

"J-just for a family reunion Ames," Sonic said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, sure," Amy sarcastically said.

"Really Amy," Sonic insisted, though he looked away from her nervously.

"Sonikku, you're going back to see Sally too, aren't you?" Amy growled through clenched teeth, knowing he was lying.

"Hey, easy Amy. Quit being so possessive," Sonic remarked, eyes hardening slightly as he faced her once more.

"Possessive!" she screamed, raising the hammer.

"Whoa, no, for the love of Pete Amy it's just a reunion for a few days!" Sonic defended, anger giving way to fear in his eyes.

She lowered the hammer, shooting, "You said that same thing to our old friends before you took off for the last time with _us_!"

Sonic froze. He had, at that, thinking back. She was right. He shifted uncomfortably. Amy looked away from him, upset. After a time he sighed, assuring, "I'll be back Amy. Sonia, Manic, and mom will drag me if they have to."

"I'll believe it when it happens," Amy sadly said.

Sonic reached out. He wanted to put a hand on her shoulder, to reassure her, but then she'd go all crazy on him. He pulled back, instead saying, "I promise, I'll be back." With that he zoomed off, Amy looking after him, hurt in her eyes. She'd scared him off again.

"Amy?" Shade asked, coming up behind her with Cream.

"He won't come back, will he, not when he sees her?" Amy questioned.

"Don't say that Amy. Sonic promised, after all," Cream assured. Amy forced a smile.

"I'm surprised you never utilized your hammer," Shade remarked, trying to change the subject.

"She was probably too upset," Tikal suddenly said as she and Marine came up, having heard the whole exchange.

"Not helping," Shade warned them.

"I'm fine, let's just enjoy the picnic," Amy declared.

"Bonzer mates," Marine agreed.

Sonic slid to a stop, sighing in relief. He really didn't want to face her at the moment. "Hey slow poke," a voice said.

Sonic looked sharply to the person. He grinned, saying, "You're one to talk Jet."

"Cute. Hey, let's settle once and for all who the fastest thing alive is, why don't we. Five days Sonic, here at the park. We'll fly around it five times, for each passed day," Jet challenged.

"How many times are we gonna do this until you accept I'm just too fast for you?" Sonic questioned.

"As many as I want," Jet replied.

"All right greenie, you're on," Sonic agreed. "Five days." Sonic stretched out his hand. Jet shook it, eyes burning with excitement. Well, that was sealed. Sonic wouldn't be staying in Knothole or Mobotropolis for too long. Especially not now. Just then, however, he heard Sonic gasp, and the hedgehog's grip tightened.

Confused, Jet followed his gaze. His eyes widened. Sonia and Shadow were walking down a trail together! Jet looked uncertainly at Sonic. He noted all too well the hard look in Sonic's eyes. Oh, true blue wasn't liking this at all. "Uh, Sonic?" Jet asked.

"I'll be back later," Sonic replied through gritted teeth.

"Shadow, wait!" Sonia called, chasing the black hedgehog. Shadow paused, half glancing back, eyes cold. He waited, though. She reached him panting. He raised an eyebrow then continued to walk. She looked at him curiously and followed, coming up beside him. "Uh, so, where are we going?"

"_I'm_ just walking," Shadow replied.

"Well, can I tag along?" she asked. He looked incredulously at her. "Okay, stupid question, I'm tagging along now," Sonia said, before Shadow could bring it up.

"What do you want Sonia?" Shadow questioned.

"I just wanted to let you know that my family and I are going to Knothole. It turns out Sir Charles Hedgehog and Jules are mother's brothers," Sonia replied. Shadow looked startled, turning sharply to her. "Yeah, that's what we though," Sonia said with a smile.

"Hmm, so Sonic's going back to see her," Shadow said.

"Her? You mean that girl Sally he talked about?" Sonia questioned.

"He won't be back anytime soon," Shadow remarked.

"We'll drag him back if we have to. I don't think it'll come to that though. He was talking to Jet and shaking his hand," Sonia said.

"The hawk is cleverer than I thought, then. Sonic can't resist a challenge," Shadow stated.

Sonia looked around at the blooming cherry blossoms. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked.

Shadow glanced around, pausing for a moment. Soon he replied, "I see no beauty."

She looked at him, startled. "What do you mean you see no beauty? How can you miss it?" she asked.

He looked back at her, replying, "Let me rephrase, I don't care."

"Have you ever cared about anything in your life besides… besides your surrogate niece Maria?" Sonia asked.

Shadow scowled, then replied, "If I was heartless, Sonia, this world would be destroyed. If you must know, yes, but you're not about to find out anything else."

"Yo sis," Sonic suddenly said, zooming passed them then stopping again. He looked to Shadow, greeting, "Faker."

"Taking my name for you Sonic?" Shadow questioned with a cold smirk.

"Hey Sonia, what are you doing?" Sonic asked.

"I was just telling Shadow about the reunion," Sonia replied icily, glaring at her brother.

"Why go onto the subject of cherry blossoms then?" Sonic questioned, acting clueless.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, were you spying on me!" Sonia demanded.

"Spying? No way sis, I don't do spying. That's Shads bag," Sonic replied, jerking his thumb at Shadow. "I was just snooping." Shadow chuckled darkly.

"You sound like Sleet," Sonic remarked, glaring at Shadow.

"No, _his_ laugh was more maniacal," Shadow replied.

"Yeah, whatever, just take off to wherever you were going Shadow. Sonia and I need to get back to mom," Sonic shot.

"Whatever you say Sonic," Shadow said, tone laced with amusement. He winked at Sonia. He was satisfied on seeing her blush, and Sonic's blood boil. With that he raced off, leaving a seething Sonic, and an angry Sonia.

"Sonic!" Sonia yelled.

"Hey, he's trouble sis! Stay away from him!" Sonic ordered.

"I'll talk to whoever I want to!" Sonia shouted.

"Not today you won't!" Sonic barked, grabbing her hand and racing off.

Sonic slid to a stop beside their mother and Manic. Manic took them in and started. "Whoa sibs, you two don't look happy," Manic remarked.

"What's going on you two?" Aleena sharply questioned.

"Sonic decided to spy on me while I was walking with Shadow, and then he practically forbid me from talking to him at all and sent Shadow away! He was _way_ out of line!" Sonia explained.

"So sue me for caring!" Sonic yelled.

"Children, enough!" Aleena shot. The two fell silent. Just then they noticed the Chaotix, Knuckles and Tails, and Vanilla staring at them in disbelief.

"Oh great," Sonia grumbled.

"You went after Shadow?" Knuckles icily asked.

"I needed to tell him about the reunion," Sonia defended.

"And how beautiful the cherry blossoms were," Sonic snidely added.

"Sonic!" Sonia shouted yet again.

"Oh Sonic, you spied on her?" Aleena questioned with a sigh.

"I was worried," Sonic replied.

"Next time you want a spy, send me. You're not exactly the best there is," Espio remarked.

"Don't go there Espio," Sonia threatened. Espio backed down.

"Nonetheless you had no right to pry son. Sonia's choices are her own," Aleena said, ignoring the chameleon.

"So you're saying if she decided to jump off a bridge I should let her?" Sonic asked.

"Sonic, enough. You know what I mean," Aleena firmly said.

"I just want to protect her," Sonic said, hurt in his eyes.

Sonia's glare softened slightly. "_Never_ stop protecting her son, but she has her own life as well," Aleena reasoned, hands on Sonic's shoulders.

"Humph," Sonic grumbled. "Manic, Tails, Knuckles, let's go," Sonic said.

"Uh, right on bro," Manic replied, looking uncertainly from Sonia to Sonic. He didn't like the disruption of balance.

Suddenly, right before Sonic rushed off, Sonia remarked, "Since one of us has to be the bigger man, thanks for caring Sonic, but try not to get into my social life."

Sonic paused, looked back, then replied, "Sorry." Looking to Espio, he added, "Espio, join us."

"Okay?" Espio asked, confused at the request. Nonetheless he ran off with Sonic, Manic, Tails, and Knuckles.

Out of hearing range of Sonia and Aleena, Sonic stopped, saying, "Freeze!"

Espio slammed into him. "Ow!" Espio exclaimed.

"I'm not supposed to pry into her social life, but she never said _you_ couldn't," Sonic suddenly said to the chameleon.

"Sonic, you're not going to…" Tails began.

Sonic pressed on, though, saying, "Keep an eye on my sister so she doesn't hurt herself."

"That would get _me_ in trouble with her though. Sonic, Sonia can take care of herself," Espio protested.

"Shadow made her blush," Sonic remarked.

"What!" Espio and Knuckles exclaimed together.

"If Espio doesn't want to Sonic, I was thinking maybe _I_ could," Knuckles said through gritted teeth, punching his hand. Espio frowned at Knuckles.

"Good," Sonic said.

"Hold on, I haven't refused yet," Espio quickly remarked.

"Even better," Sonic said.

Espio spotted her first. "Excuse me, my clients request is right there," he said, blending in then scampering towards her.

"Jet's making a move on her, I'll fix it," Knuckles added, running towards her on seeing Jet lean against a tree and talk to her.

Tails sighed deeply then looked at Sonic coldly. "What?" Sonic asked. Tails rolled his eyes and flew towards Cream and Marine who were arguing, so it seemed.

"A little extreme, don't you think bro?" Manic asked.

"Hey, I never saw _you_ stepping in to defend her from me," Sonic said.

"Point taken. Come on, let's go," Manic said with a smile. Sonic grinned. At least Manic was being protective too. He wasn't the only bad guy, just the biggest one. Hmm, _that_ didn't make him feel any better.


	5. Family Reunited

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Since this chapter is tied closely with the next, I'll be putting up two today. Sorry for any character's out of character. It's proving to be interesting to tie together the games, cartoons, and comics all into one canon without changing any details, much. Remember, multiple hints to multiple pairings, just like the games. Some are asking me to continue Sonic and Amy, Shadow and Rouge, and Espio and Sonia. Don't worry about me abandoning any relationships completely. I might as well tell you now that Shadow and Rouge, Espio and Sonia, and Sonic and Amy are three of my preferred relationships, Shadow and Rouge being second only to Sleet and Aleena and the twisted 'romance,' if you can call it that now, that I've created around them. It's too much fun with multiple hints however. There's actually another thing I might put up, not part of the story arc, technically, but filled with as many pairings as you can possibly imagine. It won't be updated every day, though. For this arc, though, expect to see at least some mention of your favorites like Sonic and Blaze, Knuckles and Rouge, Shadow and Tikal, ect. Just not in this particular episode of the arc. If I miss any, feel free to remark. Enjoy.)

_**Family Reunited**_

Sonic tore across Mobius, heading directly for his old roots. Manic was boarding behind him, Sonia rode her bike. Their mother, dressed in her red cloak again, was being pulled along by Sonic. He looked into the distance, no excitement in his eyes. It had been there at first, but now, as he got closer and closer, he felt more and more uncertain. His stomach was twisted in knots. It had been so long… Amy's words came back to him. "You said the same thing to our old friends before you took off for the last time…" Did he really want to face them all again now? Especially after _that_ broken promise? Sure it was his habit to return after each new addition, but now he wasn't so certain.

Aleena took note of her son's silent state. She could feel his uncertainty. "Take a deep breath my son. You'll be fine. We don't have to see your friends right away. We can start at the palace," his mother's gentle voice soothed. He still marveled at how she seemed to read and understand exactly when he was upset. All through their crusade it was the same. She would appear to them, just an image, whenever they most needed her. He smiled nervously back at her and nodded. It would be okay. His mother _said_ it would be. She'd be right there. "I'll tell you what. I'll go in first. You and your siblings stay out of sight until I motion for you to come, just to buy you more time to relax," she narrated. Sonic grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

Behind them, using the jet pack, Nic flew, barely keeping them in sight. This was ridiculous. Okay, what did she have to do first? Their mother would reunite with her family and old friends again. For a time that was out of the way. Now for the princess. Hmm, Sally would probably be in her bedroom. Nic could fly to her and tell Sally that she hadn't found a trace of Eggman, but that she was willing to help hunt him down again. Something like that. She would improvise. Sally would assume that the lead was lost, then Sleet and Dingo would be safe for a time.

Sonic would fill the Knothole Freedom Fighters in soon enough on all that had happened. That is, after Sally lectured him for leaving without a word and never coming back. She wouldn't be happy with him, not at all, independent tomboy she was. She'd know Nack had shown up again, after Sonic told her. Maybe Nic should beat her to the punch on that one though. Hopefully that would throw her. Sally had to watch her back when it came to Fang, after all. The princess would confront Nic about her brother, but Nic would skilfully dodge the questions.

Sleet had ordered her to watch the Knothole freedom fighters. What better way to watch, then to ally herself with their leader? That was when she would offer to help Sally find the Sonic heroes again, as well as Eggman. Sally would never guess where Amy and the others were. Sonic wouldn't tell her. She could use some, if not all, of what Sonic had said to his siblings and mother to drive the wedge further between them. It would work out, it was a shaky plan, plenty of room for change, but all Nic had to do was not over think things. Work by ear.

"Sibs, mom, there it is!" Manic exclaimed, pointing ahead of them to the outline of a city.

"I can't believe it…" Sonia said in awe.

The family entered, Sonic slowing instantly down. He looked around. "It's just like I remember," he said with a smile. "Knothole hasn't changed much."

"There's the palace, over there," Sonia said, pointing.

"Good, remember, come in when I summon you," Aleena stated. The triplets nodded. The banished queen put up the hood of her cloak and made her way towards it.

Aleena stood outside the palace gates, looking up at it, tears in her eyes, memories flowing through her mind of when she would come to Knothole for feasts. It was rare, since Max usually came to Mobotropolis. She sniffed then pulled up her hood. She boldly walked through, to the main door. "Halt, who goes there?" a guard asked.

"I'm here to see King and Queen Acorn. I must also speak to a Sir Charles Hedgehog, a Jules and Bernadette Hedgehog, and an Amadeus and Rosemary Prower. It's urgent," Aleena replied, not revealing herself.

"Hold on ma'am," the other guard said, confused at the request, but worried about her tone. He disappeared inside. Soon enough the palace doors opened. Aleena went swiftly inside.

"She's in," Manic declared, looking back at his siblings.

"Good, now we wait," Sonia said.

"I hate waiting," Sonic grumbled.

"We're going to meet our family!" Sonia nearly squealed.

"Just wait until you see them, you'll love them," Sonic said with a smile, relaxing. "Same with my old friends." He looked up at the palace with a frown, though, adding, "Sally… it's been so long… Man I hope she can forgive me. This is going to be one heck of a fight, though."

"You mean the chick you had a thing going with?" Manic asked.

Sonic groaned, "Yeah, her."

"I take it Amy's free then? Or is it Sally you've let go of?" Manic asked playfully. They teasing glint disappeared, though, when Sonic just glared at him, not replying. "Oh, it's one of those complicated things, isn't it?" Manic asked.

"Quit while you're ahead Manic," Sonia warned, reading Sonic's expression. Manic shut up.

"I don't love Amy. I _can't_ love her. I used to _think_ I loved Sally, but now I'm not so sure, and I don't know why. There's always the Amy factor in the back of my mind. I'd rather _die_ than hurt Ames," Sonic said.

"Like I said, complicated," Manic remarked. Sonic was about to protest, but then fell silent.

Max Acorn sat on the throne next to his wife. "I wonder what could be so urgent that all of us would be summoned here," Alicia worriedly said.

"It's probably nothing too bad my dear," Max assured.

"Nevertheless…" Alicia began.

"Don't worry your majesty. If something's wrong, we'll be ready," Amadeus said to her, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.

All at once the doors to the throne room flew open, and the group looked up with gasps. The doors closed behind a lone figure, clothed in a red cape. They squinted towards it. "Can it be…?" Chuck began.

"Who goes there?" Jules called towards the figure. The figure seemed frozen. After a moment, though, it reached up and removed the hood of its cloak. Everyone in the room gasped in shock.

"It can't be…" Rosemary said in awe.

"Qu-queen Aleena?" Bernadette asked in shock.

Aleena looked at her, then to Jules and Chuck. Tears came to her eyes. Chuck took a shaky step towards her. "A-Aleena…"

"Little sister, you truly are alive," Jules said in awe.

She could hold back no more. She laughed, a sob escaping, then grinned brilliantly back at her friends and family. "Jules, Chuck!" she screamed, running towards them.

"Aleena!" Chuck cried, racing to her along with Jules. Her two brothers embraced her, holding her tighter than ever before, each one sobbing, or what passed for sobbing from Jules.

"Aleena!" Max exclaimed, leaping from the throne. The others followed his lead and ran to her, crying her name.

All at once she was smothered in the sea of her old friends and family. She kissed each one of them tenderly, weeping. "I've come back, I had to see you all again. I couldn't…I couldn't stay away any longer," she wept. "As soon as I was sure it would be safe I came."

"How? What's happened? Tell us everything," Amadeus demanded ecstatically.

Aleena went into her long explanation of the time after the incident, of searching for her children. Amadeus and Rosemary were relieved to hear that Tails was still alright. Finally, she had told them about Sonia and Manic and the Eggman incident, omitting one key factor that she wasn't ready to talk about yet. Sleet. She just used the phrases, leader, brawn, and flight in place of names at first. Once they knew of the Underground adventures, she would explain it more. Then came the hardest part of all. She had to cover the Underground crusade slowly, cautiously, for she knew what they were to hear would shock them.

She hadn't been the only one to think the wolf dead, so when finally, after all these years, she told them that Sleet was alive, they had been shocked beyond words. They had looked at her as if she had grown two heads. They had heard _nothing_ of the Underground from Sonic. They didn't even know for sure if he'd met them. Then Aleena explained the Underground crusade to them, and Sleet's treachery, and elaborated on the Eggman incident just recently. She could sense the hatred emanating from her old friends for the wolf. She feared to meet their eyes, worried they would lecture her. She didn't want to hear it.

She had known from the start that the canine could never be fully trusted, though then it had pained her to understand. She had always known something might happen. Of course, not exactly like it had, not to this degree. The way things had turned out had been more painful than she had ever imagined. At first, that is. Not anymore. Just then Chuck broke the silence, saying venomously, "That cursed beast." All at once he yelled, "How _dare_ he do this to my baby sister! I _knew_ he wasn't to be trusted!"

Jules though, to Aleena's relief, reasoned, "How was she to know that he hadn't been killed? Even _we_ thought he was dead until now. How could she have guessed things would escalate like they did? She herself knew not to expect him never to turn on her. She admitted as much when we first heard of it."

"That doesn't excuse the crimes he has committed against our royal family!" Chuck protested.

"It is done, Chuck, leave it. You're upsetting our sister!" Jules said sharply. Chuck fell silent, noticing for the first time Aleena's distraught reaction.

He softened instantly, saying, "Aleena, I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she insisted. How often had she insisted that over the years? She looked to Jules gratefully. He nodded to her. She quickly finished, saying, "I've come back, now, with my children, all of them. They want to meet you all."

"What! Your children are here!" Alicia exclaimed, instantly becoming excited and welcoming the opportunity to change the subject from a lover's treachery.

"Unbelievable…" Jules, Chuck, and Bernadette said in awe. After all this time they would finally meet their long lost nephew and niece.

"May I call them in?" Aleena asked.

"Why haven't you already!" Max demanded. Aleena grinned.

The triplets looked impatiently at the door. "Man, what's taking so long?" Manic asked.

"There's a lot mother needs to tell them before she suddenly springs _us_ into the picture," Sonia replied.

"Come on mom, we're waiting," Sonic grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.

"There!" Sonia exclaimed. Their mother stood at the door waving them over.

"All right, let's jet," Sonic said, grabbing his siblings' hands and dashing right passed his mother. She screamed, startled, as Manic and Sonia grabbed her hands, pulling her along without so much as a pause.

They burst into the throne room, Sonic exclaiming, "I'm back!"

"Sonny!" Charles cried happily.

"Sonic, oh darling, we've missed you!" Bernadette shrieked. Dropping his siblings, Sonic zoomed over to Jules and Bernadette, throwing his arms around them, saying, "Mom, dad!" He saw his uncle and pulled him into the hug, saying, "Uncle Chuck!"

"My boy, I haven't seen you for so long," Jules said, holding Sonic tightly.

All at once, though, Bernadette noticed the other two. She gasped, slowly straightening up. Jules and Chuck noticed, then followed suit. They looked towards Aleena. She held both Sonia and Manic's shoulders reassuringly. "Aleena, are those…" she trailed off.

"Come along children," Aleena prompted. Nervously the two hedgehogs moved towards their brother. Aleena beamed at her friends and family, saying, "Chuck, Jules, Bernie, meet your niece and other nephew, Sonia and Manic."

"By Chaos, I never thought I'd see the day…" Chuck said in awe, looking down at the two children. Sonic moved back to his siblings and put his arms around them, grinning.

"I never dreamed I would live to see you two again," Jules stated, going up to the two, looking at them kindly.

"U-Uncle Jules, what happened?" Manic asked, taking in the robot form.

"Manic!" Sonic defensively began.

"Easy Sonic, it's all right," Jules calmed. "I was mortally wounded, Manic and Sonia, long ago. The only way I can survive now is in robot form."

"They can't do anything for you Uncle Jules?" Sonia asked, testing out his name. Jules shook his head.

Manic looked at Chuck and Bernie. "Y-you guys are our Uncle Chuck and Aunt Bernadette…" Manic said in disbelief. "I-I have a family. An actual family." Tears came to his eyes.

"We all do," Sonia said, looking up at them, wide eyed. "Uncle Chuck, Aunty Bernie…" she said, testing those two names as well. All at once the two found themselves gently embraced by their uncles and aunt. Shocked, they responded almost in a trance. "I can't believe it," Sonia said.

"Believe it," Aleena stated. With that she introduced the others to them. "Rosemary, Bernie, and Alicia helped deliver you three when you were born," Aleena stated, after introducing them all.

"Really?" all three triplets asked in shock. Not even _Sonic_ had known that, and he actually _knew_ them. He was shocked, not to mention slightly suspicious. What other secrets were there?

Guilty as charged, "Rosemary said."

"It was quite the experience," Alicia verified.

"I'll never forget it," Bernie said, a recollecting expression on her face.

"Sonic, you must introduce them to your friends here!" Max suddenly exclaimed, remembering the others.

Sonic visibly stiffened. "I-I don't know. I'm sort of nervous…" Sonic began. "What if they're mad at me for leaving?"

"Of course they'll be mad, but they'll forgive you just as quickly," Amadeus stated. "They've missed you very much Sonic."

"Yeah, to tell the truth, I've kind of missed them too," Sonic replied.

"Sonic's told us so much about you all. We never thought we'd actually get to meet everyone," Sonia said, instantly warming up to them.

"It's almost overwhelming," Manic said, spinning his drumsticks.

"Overwhelming? I never thought I'd hear that from a child of Aleena's," Bernie teased good naturedly.

"Hey aunty, I said almost, but not quite. Nothing's too overwhelming for the Sonic Underground," Manic boasted, tapping out a beat on his hover board. Max gave the order for them all to be summoned, and they waited in anticipation.

"Let's make this entrance memorable," Sonia declared. "We can hide behind the curtains, then when they arrive, we can show ourselves."

"All right," Sonic agreed, giving her a thumbs up. Aleena smiled and shook her head affectionately. The triplets instantly dashed out of sight, leaving Aleena to be introduced first.


	6. Old Friends Revisited

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Oh heck with it. This installment is almost over anyway. I'll put up one more chapter since it's really short. Okay, I don't put in Bunnie's last name because I'm not certain if it's still Rabbot, or if it's now D'Coolette. I'm pretty sure her name for Sally is Sal-Gal, but instead I used Sally-Gal just because. The one comic I read was the one where Sally and Sonic fought, and Sally gave him a choice between her and fighting Eggman. This is why you don't force people to choose. He chose Eggman over her, and she ran off. It's probably why I'm not a fan of the pairing, because she gave him the choice in the first place, but nonetheless, it's a fun pairing to work with and there will be more of it in future stories. I will never settle down into one pairing in this arc. Enjoy.)

_**Old Friends Revisited**_

Nic, meanwhile, had stayed only long enough for the Underground to go into the palace. She then looked up at a window and flew towards it. She had better drop the message to Sally quick, before anyone saw her.

Sally was pacing back and forth in her bedroom. She was agitated, to say the least. Eggman had practically disappeared from the face of the earth, and Sonic… He hadn't come back. Not for so long. Neither had a bunch of their friends. He just left, without any warning except the words, "It'll only be a few days." He brought only a chosen few with him. Why hadn't _she_ been on the list? She supposed, in retrospect, it was a hint. Eggman was always after him, and with the fair sized group of friends he'd taken, why did he need any others? She sighed in exasperation. Where was Nic? She needed to know if the tip about Eggman had been on the level.

"Easy princess, don't lose your head now," a voice said suddenly from the window.

Sally gasped and turned. "Nic, what took you so long?"

"A near death experience," Nic truthfully admitted.

"What? What happened?" Sally asked, slightly concerned.

"Just a plane crash, it was no big deal," Nic brushed off. "Anyway…" she continued before Sally could probe, "…about Eggman. If he was ever on that island, he's not there now."

"No!" Sally exclaimed in anger. "Where is he!"

"Well, between you and me, I heard from a reliable source that Sonic and his chosen few have kept Eggman in his place for a long time now. In fact, Sonic doesn't even really want or need your help anymore Sally, you _or_ the other freedom fighters. Something about a prophecy coming true… But who knows? You might get more information sooner than later. There are still some secrets remaining."

Sally looked shocked. Sonic didn't want her help anymore, her or the others? What had she done? Was he angry at her? She thought he cared… No, he _did_ care, he just didn't want to see his friends hurt, so he took only the most powerful of his allies along. But Amy and Cream weren't all that powerful. Neither was Marine or Big for that matter. What was going on? What was this about a prophecy? "Oh…" Sally finally managed to say. "And who was this reliable source?" she finally asked.

"Oh no one important, just my brother," Nic casually replied.

Sally looked sharply up at her. "Fang? Really? Since when did Nack go back to stalking Sonic and his friends?" Sally questioned.

Suddenly the door was knocked on. Sally gasped, turning. "Uh oh, that's my cue to leave. Listen Sally, if you need help finding Eggman, I'll be willing to join you," Nic quickly said, knowing that soon there would be another confrontation between them. She might as well get it over with later tonight. She finished, "I've got to go."

"I'll take you up on that offer!" Sally warned as Nic flew off. She then hurried to the door to open it.

"Princess Sally, your father has summoned you," the soldier outside stated.

"All right, I'll be right down," Sally said. The soldier nodded then left. She looked back at the window with a suspicious frown. Something about Nic didn't ring true. She couldn't think on it now, though. Something sounded important. She left the room. Nic, meanwhile, watched from a tree outside. As soon as Sally was gone, she flew back up to the princess's room. She silently went in and sat on Sally's bed to wait. She knew where this was going to go.

Sally headed down towards the throne room, pondering over Nic's report. So if Eggman had been there, he was gone by now. Maybe Sonic was around that island somewhere, but then again, Robotnick had only been there a short time. Sonic might not have heard about the crash. If he had heard, he must not be anywhere _near_ that island. She wished she knew where he and the others were. "Penny for your thoughts little sister?" a voice suddenly asked.

She looked back, slightly startled, then relaxed. "I'm just thinking, Elias," she replied.

"About what Sally?" her brother, who had been visiting them, asked.

"Nothing important," Sally dodged.

"Sonic?" he questioned.

She sighed deeply, then nodded, answering, "Why do I even bother trying to keep secrets from you?" He smirked. "Did dad and mom summon you?"

"Yes," he answered. All at once they found themselves in front of the throne room door. She blinked blankly. She hadn't realized they were there. She shook her head, cleared her throat, then prepared to enter with her brother, who gave her a reassuring smile.

Elias and Sally entered the throne room and stopped, startled. "Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor?" Sally asked, mildly surprised. "What's going on?"

"We don't know Sally-gal, somthin' important," Bunnie replied.

"It had better be. I have given up ze meal of a lifetime for zis summons," Antoine D'Coolette grumbled.

"We thought you knew," Rotor the Walrus remarked.

The group faced the adults curiously. All at once, though, they saw the new hedgehog woman standing in the room. They looked startled. "Mom, dad, who's this?" Sally asked, gesturing at the mysterious woman.

The hedgehog woman summed up the group, eyes settling on Sally and Elias. "Your children have grown so much. They're beautiful Alicia," the woman remarked.

"Mom, you know her?" Elias asked.

"We all do, son," Max stated.

"How, who is she?" Sally questioned.

"Kids, it's about time you met Queen Aleena the Hedgehog," Alicia introduced.

They gasped. "Queen!" Bunnie exclaimed. "But ain't you Queen, Queen Alicia?"

"I am," Alicia confirmed.

"Then how eez eet possible zat zis woman is also queen?" Antoine questioned.

"Have a seat, children, and we'll explain everything," Amadeus Prower stated, gesturing to a group of chairs that had been set up.

"You see children, once, before you were born and until Robotnick took over, there was a joint rulership over the land. You see, your father and mother, Sally and Elias, lived in a palace in the area around Knothole. There lived another queen with her residence in Mobotropolis. That queen was Aleena here," Rosemary briefly summed.

"After Eggman took over, the royal families were forced into exile, outlawed. Aleena fled with her three children, triplets, and was soon forced to give them up for their own protection. You'll hear more about this soon, but for now let's stick with a summary. Alicia and I held the throne of Mobotropolis for as long as we possibly could. You know what happened after," Max said.

"Before you ask questions, I find it my duty to add an important detail as of yet omitted. Aleena had two brothers who had forsaken the throne in order to live normal lives. When the royals were exiled, the brothers fled together. Those brothers were Jules and Chuck," Bernadette added.

The Knothole Freedom Fighters gasped. "Wait, Sonic has cousins, and you're his aunt?" Rotor asked the woman in shock.

"If you've come to find Sonic, he's not here," Elias declared apologetically.

"Forget zat! You are Sonic's aunt?" Antoine repeated in disbelief.

Aleena bowed her head solemnly and answered, "No… I am his mother." The Knothole gang's mouths dropped.

"Wait, you're his mother! That can't be right! Jules and Bernadette are his parents!" Sally exclaimed.

"No, we took him in for his mother, raising him as our own, when his first foster family was taken. He came to know us as mom and dad, and as far as we were concerned, he was ours. For all we knew Aleena was dead. Nonetheless, we are his aunt and uncle," Jules admitted.

"You'll understand soon enough," Chuck remarked.

They looked at them in shock. "Well bless ma soul honey chile," Bunnie said in awe.

"Wait, you fled with your children. Children as in plural? Triplets?" Rotor asked.

"Yes," Aleena admitted.

"Ah, so you are ze liar! Sonic has no siblings," Antoine flatly stated.

"Hey, don't call my mother a liar Antoine," a voice spoke suddenly. The group looked up with gasps, again. From behind the curtains, emerged the all too familiar blue blur, and behind him followed two more, one green with wild quills, and one with pink quills and Eggplant purple fur!

"Sonic!" they all breathed.

"You're back…" Elias stated in shock.

Sonic retreated behind his siblings, looking suddenly sheepish, and cautiously watching his old friend's reactions. "Sally, guys, this is Sonia and Manic, this is Queen Aleena. Meet my siblings and my mother," Sonic introduced, waving his hand solemnly over the Council of Four.

"Yo," Manic greeted.

"Hey guys," Sonia said. They could only gape.

Sally hadn't believed her eyes when she saw Sonic looking sheepishly at her, standing behind two other hedgehogs that looked just like him. He was almost hiding behind them for protection, but Sonic hardly trusted anyone but _himself_ to protect him. These two he must have trusted with his life, trusted more than anyone else, must have meant everything to him. Sally had been ready to scream at him, to let him have it, but the other freedom fighters were there, and just as she had been about to speak, Sonic had given them the declaration. Meet my siblings and my mother. No hello, no how are you; just meet my siblings and my mother.

They were frozen; each one with their mouths hanging open. It was then that the questions had flown from both sides, and then that the stories had been exchanged. Soon enough the Knothole gang had no more questions. What could they ask anymore? It had all been cleared up. They could only look at the family, still stunned. After the general shock, they finally processed that Sonic was indeed there.

"Suga-hog, ya came back!" Bunnie cried, racing to Sonic and holding him tightly. The others caught her enthusiasm, and soon enough Sonic was smothered in a sea of his old friends.

"Hey, I told you I'd be back. I missed you guys too!" Sonic exclaimed happily. They looked at his siblings then warmly greeted them as well, introducing themselves formally. Sonia and Manic were beginning to like the group. The Knothole Freedom Fighters were awed at the stories told about the rightful ruler and the past that they had never known about. Sonic was a _prince_? He had _siblings_? Jules and Bernadette _weren't_ his birth parents? Sally's parents weren't the _only_ leaders of Mobius, or at least Mobotropolis and Knothole? They were stunned, still summing up Sonic's siblings, being scrutinized just as closely. Another friendship was in the works. They were beginning to grow accustomed to each others presence.

So there they were, each of them staring at Sonic and his siblings, the stories Sonic told still spinning around and around in their heads. They could hardly believe everything they'd been told, but there it was, right in front of them… They were as shocked as the others had been, if not more. Now there was silence, as they took the triplets and their mother in. The Council of Four; that was the prophecy Nic had informed Sally about. The shock and meetings and joyous reunion between Sonic and his old friends had been exchanged.

All at once Sally came back to her senses, snapping out of the daze. The joy of the reunion and excitement of the meeting of these new found friends passed. She noticed that Sonic was looking uncomfortable. It was then that her anger came back. So he was uncomfortable, huh? He _should_ be! Her eyes grew hard. How _dare_ he leave her! She suddenly marched up to him, right in front of the others. She watched him stiffen, eyes fearful, then open his mouth to say something, probably an apology. She didn't give him the chance. She struck him as hard as she could!

"Sally Acorn!" her mother shot angrily.

"Whoa, not cool princess!" his brother, Manic, exclaimed, getting defensive.

Sally couldn't be bothered with him. "How dare you!" she shrieked.

"Hey, take a chill pill Sally!" Manic shot. Aleena covered her son's mouth and shook her head.

"Sally, I'm sorry! I meant to come back, really!" Sonic exclaimed helplessly.

"You just left without a word with your chosen few and never came back!" she yelled, obviously hurt.

"Hey, back off sister!" Sonia angrily shouted, shoving Sally back from her brother before Aleena could react.

"Sonia, don't interfere," Sonic pleaded.

"Stay out of this Sonia! This is between me and Sonic!" Sally shouted with tears in her eyes.

Sonia almost felt sorry for her, almost, but she answered, "Don't _ever_ hit my brother again Sally."

Sally shoved by and demanded, "Why didn't you take me with you? Wasn't I _good_ enough for you?"

"Sally, you were good, just, I don't know, I couldn't take you…" Sonic began quietly, looking ashamedly away.

"Sally, give suga-hog a break. He's been through a lot," Bunnie timidly intervened.

"Why couldn't you?" Sally asked, ignoring Bunnie.

"That's enough young lady!" Alicia ordered her daughter. Sally sniffed then backed away.

"I don't know," Sonic admitted. "Sally, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You know I always forgive you, but right now I'm too mad," Sally replied, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Ugh, you are _so_ better off with Amy," Sonia quietly said to her brother, so no one heard.

"Sonia, don't go there," Sonic warned.

"She's an independent little tomboy princess, probably used to getting what she wants. As far as I'm concerned, all of them translate into spoiled little…" she began.

Quickly Sonic interrupted, saying, "Oh and you're _not_?"

"I am not!" Sonia shot back.

"Yes you are; Sally's nothing compared to you," Manic said, having heard the conversation and pried his mother's hand from his mouth.

"Stay out of this Manic!" Sonia demanded.

"Can't you at least _try_ to get along with my friends?" Sonic demanded.

"Hey, I like them, all of them, even Sally, but not when she's acting like this," Sonia hissed.

"Thought you loved yourself sis," Manic bit.

"Manic!" Sonia yelled.

"Children, enough!" Aleena firmly ordered. Only then did they notice the others watching their whispered argument, having been alerted by the occasional sharp word or hiss, then Sonia's yell. The triplets scowled at each other and fell silent.

"Maybe things have been a bit too much for them," Max said. "Let's all just calm down and turn in."

"Eggman's still on the loose. We need to find him," Sally stated.

Suddenly, though, Sonic shot, "Sally, Eggman isn't your problem anymore, _none_ of you! Do you understand! He's mine and my sibling's, and our other friends! Let it go! He's out of your hair! You should be grateful! The Knothole Freedom Fighters aren't needed anymore, okay!"

The others looked at him in shock. "Not needed?" Rotor asked, slightly hurt.

"Don't be silly. As long as ze Doctor eez out there, we will always be needed," Antoine declared practically, knowing instantly that Sonic was exaggerating.

"Well, we'll always be there to help," Bunnie said. "Frankly, I'm relieved Antoine honey. Things was getting' dangerous."

"None of us believe that," Elias stated, as much to Bunnie's declaration as to Sonic's claim to them not being needed.

Sonic just turned and ran off. "Sonic!" his mother called after him. She turned to Max and the others, saying, "I'm sorry about this."

"It's okay. Sonic's just stressed," Rotor replied. "We're glad to see him though, and he was sure glad to see _us_."

"Go after him Aleena," Jules said, noticing her longing look. "_You're_ his parent now. It's time to make up for lost years." Aleena smiled then ran after her son.

"Maybe we should go too," Manic worriedly said.

"Nonsense young'uns. Sonia, Manic, come along we'll show you where you and your family will be sleeping. Aleena will have brought Sonic back by then," Charles reassured.

"If you say so Uncle Chuck," Manic said, unable to help but smile. With that they followed their family and their new found friends.

Sonic kept running until suddenly he stopped by the ocean. He looked angrily over it, almost too mad to think. "Sonic!" he heard his mother call. His shoulders sagged sadly. He looked back at her helplessly. She appeared, but stopped on seeing him. After a moment she slowly went to him. "Darling…" she began.

All at once, though, he was hugging her, tears of fury in his eyes. "I _knew_ something like this would happen. I don't see them forever, then when I show up, Sally turns on me. What about the others? What are they thinking? Why did I bother trying with Sally? All I wanted was to apologize and see them again."

"Shh honey, it's all right. Your old friends missed you, all of them. They love you Sonic. As for Sally… she just needs time to adjust. You overwhelmed them with your sudden appearance, then with the news of Sonia and Manic. Tomorrow will be better, I promise," Aleena assured.

"I don't want to wait that long," Sonic replied.

"You want to run away from your problems," his mother diagnosed.

Sonic grimaced. "It sounds worse when you say it like that," he remarked.

She giggled, saying, "I used to try to run too." She then pulled from the hug. "Things will get better," she repeated, hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "Tomorrow things will look up, you can catch up, and Sonia and Manic will be accepted into their circles, don't worry about that." Sonic smiled up at her then nodded. The two headed back. Sonic looked up at her. She grinned lovingly down at him, stroking back his quills. It was good to have his mother back.

Aleena looked back at the ocean. Her smile fell into a frown, eyes hardening as she remembered the last time she had sailed across that ocean. Sleet had been there. There first kiss… Gods he was everywhere. Why couldn't he just disappear? Chaos and Solaris strike him down. She just wanted to forget. She focused once more on her child, willing all thoughts of the wolf away. She had her children now.


	7. Team Acorn

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Third up today. Here's a team up I bet you never thought you'd see.)

_**Team Acorn**_

"This is where you and Sonic will sleep sonny," Chuck said to Manic, opening a door to a bedroom. He went to an adjacent door, opened it, then added, "And through this door is the room where your mother will sleep." He went to another door on the other side, then finished, "This is Sonia's room."

"Man, why do me and Manic have to share?" Sonic asked suddenly. They turned to face him in surprise. There he stood with their mother.

"That was quick," Sally remarked, calmer than before, offering an apologetic smile. Sonic smirked back.

"All right, dig it. I could get used to _this_," Manic replied, going into the room and not backing up Sonic's comment in the least, simply acting like his brother and mother had never been gone. Sonic sighed in exasperation, then shook his head affectionately.

"I suppose zat living een a sewer for most of your life could prompt you to appreciate ze finer things in life more," Antoine pompously said.

"You know, dude, you remind me of someone," Manic said in an unimpressed tone.

"Oh, who?" Antoine questioned.

"Remember the Bartleby guy we told you about?" Sonic asked with a cocky grin. Manic stifled a chuckle. Antoine didn't catch Manic's double meaning, just accepted it proudly with a nod. After all, who could take offense to being compared to the aristocracy?

"Antoine ain't that bad once you get to know him," Bunnie said to Sonic's siblings.

"Don't worry; Antoine's nothing like my Bartleby," Sonia told her.

"Wasn't this Bartleby guy blonde and pompous too?" Rotor asked.

"How dare you!" Antoine shot.

Quickly interrupting, Elias said, "We'd like to meet these older friends of Sonic's someday."

"Hey, no problem, it'll happen, no doubt about it," Manic said.

"Yeah, I hope so. They sound interesting," Sally said with a smile.

"Your wish is our command," Sonic said, pulling his siblings to him in order for them to stand in front of their mother.

"We will let you kids settle in and get to know each other now," Jules said. "We have a lot of catching up to do too," he added, looking around at the adults. They nodded.

"Goodnight," the children all said in succession. The adults simply waved, leaving.

"I'll need to get in contact with my wife and child soon too," Elias declared, looking at the time. "It's been an honor and a shock to meet you two, and find out that Sonic is a prince, and meet your mother."

"Likewise," Sonia replied.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what you two had to see, Sonia and Manic, you know, me and Sonic's fight. I hope you can forgive me," Sally said.

"Hey, we got off on the wrong foot Sal, but I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Manic answered for both he and Sonia. Sonia nodded in agreement.

"I do declare, we can't wait to see y'all again," Bunnie said.

"We have a _bit_ longer to get to know each other," Rotor defended.

"Then let's make the most of it," Sonic replied.

Soon the freedom fighters of Knothole left the room of the family. They said their goodnights, and slowly began to disperse. Just as Bunnie was leaving, though, Sally reached out, taking her arm, then saying, "Bunnie, can you stay the night?"

Bunnie was confused at the request, looked after Antoine, but soon replied with a smile, "Sure thing Sal-gal."

"Thanks, there's so much to discuss," Sally gratefully said.

The two returned to Sally's bedroom, talking about everything that had been happening. "About time," a voice suddenly said, breaking their conversation.

They gasped. "Nicolette!" both girls exclaimed, surprised at seeing the weasel sitting on Sally's bed, waiting.

Sally's eyes hardened suddenly, though, and she demanded, "You mentioned a prophecy! You knew about Sonic's siblings and mother, _didn't_ you?"

"Trust me, I only just learned," Nic replied.

"How did y'all learn Nic?" Bunnie questioned.

"When Sally sent me to scout out the tip about Eggman, Bunnie, I didn't find _him_, but I found my brother. He's been watching Sonic for a while now, along with a new team, one he might actually stick with this time. After all, he's no idiot," Nic replied.

"Wait, they told us about the Eggman adventure," Bunnie said. She then gasped, exclaiming, "He joined up with them two bounty hunters Sleet and Dingo?"

"Bingo," Nic said. "I'm surprised they didn't go into detail with that."

"They called him Fang though," Bunnie defended. "How was _I_ to know?"

"Sally, you didn't tell her that Fang is Nack's name too?" Nic asked Sally.

"It is?" Bunnie asked.

"It wasn't important," Sally replied. "I thought everyone knew that already."

"Just because _you_ know everything there is to know about my brother, doesn't mean _they_ do," Nic said. "By the way, I think it's only fair to warn you that he has a bullet with your name on it princess, literally."

"I didn't think he cared," Sally sarcastically muttered. Nic laughed. Sally couldn't help but smile. Bunnie was stifling a giggle. Growing serious once more, Sally said, "You mentioned that you would be willing to help me find Eggman again, since apparently Team Vile took off on him after the last adventure when his Flying Egg Fortress went down. If you didn't find Eggman, then they couldn't have still been with him when you first found Nack, Nic. I don't imagine they led you back to him either."

"You bet hon," Nic replied.

"Why would you betray your own brother?" Bunnie asked.

"I wouldn't," Nic answered.

"But don't he know where Eggman is now? He must. We would have to capture him and get his information," Bunnie pressed suspiciously.

Nic sighed, then replied, "I'll help you find Eggman, but I won't help you catch Team Vile."

"As long as we ultimately find the Sonic Heroes again as well," Sally replied. "Sonic thinks he can handle him alone, well he can think again. I should at least know where Eggman is, if nothing else."

"Then it's agreed," Nic cheerily said. "You can be the speed, I can be the flight, Bunnie can be the power, if you want to join us, that is," Nic said, looking to Bunnie for confirmation.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt none," Bunnie replied.

"I thought you were glad Eggman was out of our hair," Sally teased.

"Like you said Sally, we should at least know where he is," Bunnie answered.

"So that's it, huh? Now we're a team," Sally declared.

"What should we be called oh great leader?" Nic asked.

"Team Acorn has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Sally asked, putting her arms around both Bunnie and Nic's shoulders, eyes glittering excitedly.

"Sure thing honey chile," Bunnie answered.

"Until we meet again then Team Acorn," Nic said. "I've got to find somewhere to sleep."

"You're welcome to stay here, I guess," Sally said, though her eyes were suspicious. "Just don't try anything, and we'll be watching."

"Don't worry guys, you can trust me, for a price," Nic said.

"Yeah right," Bunnie stated. Nic just smirked mysteriously at them. She was in.

The Council of Four stayed for two days. In that time, everyone had heard about what had happened. Everyone who never knew was shocked. Mina, Ash, Fiona, Dulcy, Geoffrey, and that was only a few; pretty much everyone Sonic had ever known, not counting his older friends from Robotropolis, but it was only a matter of time. Sonic had hardly had a free moment to himself, neither had his family, the King and Queen, or Amadeus and Rosemary. Finally, when all curiosity had been satisfied, the Council of Four prepared to leave. There was one more place they needed to visit.

"You're always welcome here Aleena, know that," Max said to her as the family was about to leave. Everyone had gathered there to see them off.

"Thank you Max, Alicia, I get the feeling this isn't the last we've seen of Knothole," Aleena replied, embracing her friends and brothers, then looking to where her children were saying goodbye to their new found friends. She observed, sympathetically, Sally's sadness, Sonic's apologetic expression. She wished she knew her sons thoughts. "Children, time to go!" Aleena said.

They looked at her. "All right, let's juice," Manic declared, leaping onto his hover board.

"Hey, that's _my_ line," Sonic teased.

"I can't wait to get back to Mobotropolis," Sonia said, climbing onto her bike.

"Yeah, I'll play with you kids some other time!" Sonic called, saying goodbye to his old friends. "Let's go!" With that the family tore off, leaving behind the cheers of the citizens of Knothole.


	8. To Mobotropolis

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: Sario was the girl in the hillbilly episode of Sonic Underground. Countess Katerina was in the episode of Sonic Underground where Titus appeared. She was the one whose house he demonstrated his 'derobotocizer' at. I don't know if they showed her or not, but she's listed as a character in the wiki, so I assume they did. This was originally going to be the last chapter, but then I read over my reviews and came up with an idea for one more. I'll put it up today too. Enjoy.)

_**To Mobotropolis**_

"Okay, I sent a letter to Cyrus and Trevor telling them to gather together the freedom fighters in the park, at least the ones that realized we had been missing," Sonia said.

"Those would be…?" Manic prompted.

"Well, Cyrus, Trevor, Renee, Jared, Sario, Stripes, let's just say a lot of them," Sonia replied. "Cyrus and Trevor want us to get them, though, just for proof's sake," Sonia added.

"Man, who _wouldn't_ recognize your writing?" Sonic asked.

"I hope, for your sake, Sonic, that that was a compliment," Sonia warned. Sonic chuckled.

"Everyone will be so glad to see us again," Manic remarked.

"Don't they think I'm dead too?" Sonic asked.

Manic and Sonia grew solemn, looking at each other. Sonia finally replied, "When we got back without you, and people asked questions, we couldn't bring ourselves to tell them that you were dead."

"You were a legend bro," Manic added.

"We just told them that Robotnick was gone, for the time, and that you had decided to get away from it all for a while. Explore all of Mobius," Sonia finished.

"As it turns out, you were right," Sonic said with a smile.

"Hey mom, you think Ferrell and Lady Windermere will be derobotocized too?" Manic asked.

"We'll soon see," Aleena replied with a smile. "They'll be glad to see you three again, and enthralled with your stories. Tell the freedom fighters, and the word will spread quicker than you would believe throughout the rest of the city."

"Who else should we tell?" Sonia asked.

"I'll get Argus, Titus, Ferrell, and Lady Windermere," Aleena replied.

"Great, meanwhile I can get Cyrus, his dad Lionel, and Trevor," Sonic declared.

"I'll get Mindy, her father, and Bartleby," Sonia quickly volunteered.

"Really?" Sonic asked.

"Of course! I never sent them a letter because I want our reunion to be special," Sonia declared.

"Typical," Sonic grumbled.

"I'll grab… oh wait," Manic began. There was no one else to get, really. "I'll tag along with Sonic," Manic finished.

"Right on bro," Sonic said, giving him thumbs up.

"We'll meet in the park tonight," Aleena stated. "Bring them to the meeting place and wait. After they've been told, the news will spread to anyone else who noticed your absence."

"You got it mom," the triplets chorused.

"There she is!" Sonic declared, pointing, excitement growing in him.

"Wow, finally, after all this time, Mobotropolis," Manic said. "Now to gather the masses."

Aleena made her way to the sewers. Best to start with the easiest to collect, right? She smirked, remembering the man whom she had once spared. She walked through them in the area she knew Ferrell had once lived. "Ferrell!" she called into the seemingly dead sewer. All of a sudden a rat ran out in front of her, making her gasp in surprise. She relaxed, though, on recognizing him as the one who had found Manic in the first place. "Oh, you startled me," she remarked.

He summed her up for a moment. Finally he said, "You're looking for Ferrell, are ya?"

"Can you take me to him?" she asked.

"Maybe, for a price," the rat replied, holding out his hand for whatever gold she might have had.

"I have no time for this. I order you to lead me to him," she boldly said.

"Oh you order me, huh? What gives you that authority?" the rat argued.

"I am your Queen," Aleena bluntly answered, removing her hood.

The rat gasped, paling. "Queen Aleena!" he exclaimed, falling in front of her.

"Please, don't, just lead me to him," Aleena stated, placing a comforting hand on the rat's shoulder.

"He doesn't have to your majesty," a new voice spoke.

Aleena looked over, slightly startled. She smiled, though, on seeing the man. "Ferrell, it's been years," she greeted.

"I'm surprised you remembered a lowly thief, especially one you only met once," Ferrell replied.

"I'm surprised you recognized _me_," Aleena said.

"How could I forget?" he asked. "_Who_ could forget your beauty?" She modestly bowed her head, a flattered smile on her face. "I knew the moment I saw Manic that he was yours," Ferrell declared.

"I knew he'd be safe with you," Aleena replied with a smile, looking back up. "He's eager to see you again Ferrell. I'm so glad you're all right now. My children and I are collecting together some old friends to meet in the park. Will you come with me? Manic has been so excited."

"As you wish your majesty," Ferrell humbly said, bowing. "I miss that little thief." With that he followed the queen out of the sewers and onto the streets.

"I can never thank you enough, Countess Katerina, for letting me stay with you. After my derobotocization I had nowhere to go. Not many are hospitable to a con-man," the man said to the woman sitting across from him.

"You're always welcome here Titus," the woman replied. "Tell me, though, why the sudden sentimentality?" the countess asked.

"It was too quiet," Titus replied with a smile. Katerina beamed at him, pleased.

Suddenly the door was knocked on. The countess looked contemptuously at it and huffed, "Now who could that be?" She rose to answer it, Titus at her side. She opened it, saying, "How may I help you?"

"Katerina," a voice greeted.

The Countess gasped and looked at the woman. "Queen Aleena!" she exclaimed. "You're back!" She looked to Ferrell then grimaced, asking, "_Who_ is _that_?"

"An old friend. I've come to inquire about Titus," Aleena stated.

"Your majesty!" she heard the man exclaim. She looked inside and spotted the shocked man.

"Titus!" she cried, rushing passed the countess and to the man she had once known. "You're normal again!"

He held her back, declaring, "Aleena, you've come back! We were all wondering when you'd return, seeing as Robotnick hasn't attacked for a while."

"Yes, I'm here. I decided to visit some old acquaintances and have the word spread that I'm still alive," she said to both Titus and Katerina. "I still have to visit Lady Windermere, and Argus, my old captain."

"Let me come with you," Titus said. "Just to visit."

"If you want to," Aleena agreed. She looked to the countess, asking, "Katarina, what about you?"

"I'm fine here your highness. Lady Windermere will be so glad to see you again," Katarina said.

"I'm going to her next," Aleena confirmed.

"Excellent. We're glad that you have returned," Katarina said. "Farewell Aleena."

"Farewell Katarina," Aleena responded. With that she left, Ferrell and Titus following her.

"Do either of you know where Argus is?" Aleena questioned.

"Last I checked he was living in a house and periodically making rounds on the nobles' houses," Titus replied.

"Luckily for you two, I keep a close eye on the guards. Around this time he'll be at Lady Windermere's house, checking on her," Ferrell declared.

"Kill two birds with one stone," Aleena remarked leading them at a run. They spoke as they ran, catching up as far as Aleena dared go with them before the others were there.

"There's Windermere's house," Titus suddenly remarked, pointing at it.

"Finally," Ferrell panted.

Aleena came to a stop in front of the door. The last time she had been this close was when she had left Sonia on the doorstep. She felt sadness in her, but quickly assured herself that it didn't matter anymore. She had her children back. She knocked firmly.

Windermere gasped, and Argus turned suspiciously. They had just been bidding each other farewell. "My word, who could _that_ be?" Windermere worriedly asked.

"I'll check it out," Argus declared, drawing out a gun and quickly moving to the door. He put a finger to his lips, motioning to Windermere to be quiet. She moved behind him, putting nervous hands on his shoulders. All at once he threw open the door and pointed the gun, ordering, "Who's there!"

Ferrell cried out in terror, dropping to the ground, covering his head. Titus pulled quickly to the side with a gasp, dragging Aleena with him. Aleena, though, quickly recovered from the surprise and replied, "Argus, put that thing away."

"Aleena!" Argus and Windermere exclaimed together.

"Have you lost your mind!" Titus protectively shot, stepping in front of Aleena to confront Argus.

"How was _I_ supposed to know?" Argus demanded.

"Easy Titus, it was an honest mistake," Aleena soothed. Titus reluctantly stepped to the side.

"My queen," Argus said, bowing.

"Argus, please," Aleena said with a smile. She hugged him suddenly, then looked at Windermere, saying, "I've come back to get you two."

"Why, whatever for?" Windermere asked.

"My children are waiting. You remember Sonia?" Aleena said.

"My word, darling Sonia! She was yours! Oh Aleena, I'm so sorry! Oh I've missed her so," Windermere gushed.

"There is no need to apologize for what happened. I knew you would be a good mother. All will be explained if you two will follow me to the park. That is where we will meet the children. Sonia misses you very much," Aleena stated.

"Of course, let's go," Windermere urged. Aleena smirked, and the group headed towards the park.

"So where do ya think we're gonna find them dude?" Manic questioned Sonic, as they walked through the streets, taking in the sights.

"I doubt Cyrus has been abandoned his workshop bro, whether or not Eggman hasn't attacked for a long time. He's too much like Tails. They'd really hit it off," Sonic replied. "Where Cyrus's workshop is, we'll find Cyrus, Trevor, and Lionel. The others will be waiting."

"Right on bro. Let's hurry this up," Manic pressed, jumping onto his hover board.

"Dude, that's what I'm usually saying," Sonic remarked with a cheeky grin. With that Sonic took off, Manic right behind him, racing towards the workshop.

All at once they were there. Manic leapt of his hover board, saying, "Yee haw! Man that never gets old. I can't wait to get back and race Jet. We're tied for wins. I've gotta put him in his place."

Sonic chuckled then shoved open the door, exclaiming, "We're back!"

Cyrus' head shot up so fast he slammed it on the metal above him that Trevor was holding. Trevor gasped and turned sharply, only looking back to Cyrus on feeling the vibration. Lionel turned in shock. "Sonic, Manic!" Trevor and Cyrus exclaimed together, Cyrus flinging off the welding mask. The two ran to their old friends and embraced them excitedly.

"Boys, it's been so long. Where's your sister?" Lionel asked with a broad grin.

"Good to see you're normal again Lionel," Sonic said.

"It's good to _be_ derobotocized," Lionel replied.

"Sonia's going to get Bartleby and Mindy," Manic replied. "We came here to get you guys to come with us for a meeting in the park, like Sonia said in her letter. We'll explain everything there."

"Trevor, Cyrus, you didn't' believe it?" Sonic asked.

"Well…" Trevor began.

"We actually wanted to see you three before anyone else," Cyrus replied with a broad smile.

"We did?" Trevor asked.

"Well _I_ did," Cyrus answered. Trevor shrugged.

"What are we waiting for, let's go slowmo's," Sonic prompted.

"All right!" Cyrus exclaimed.

"Let's go!" Trevor agreed. With that the four boys ran out. Lionel shook his head affectionately. Cyrus would fill him in later. He was too old to move like that. He turned back to the project the two boys had been working on.

Mindy was brushing her hair, humming a quiet song. It was great to be back home after Robotnick disappeared. The doorbell was rung. She looked towards her bedroom door then rose. She rushed downstairs to the entrance, calling, "I'll get it daddy!" Her father came from out of the next room as Mindy opened the door.

"Mindy!" a voice cried.

"Sonia!" Mindy screamed, squealing excitedly and hugging her friend. "It's been ages girlfriend!"

"I know, I've missed it here," Sonia replied. Spotting Mindy's father, she waved, saying, "Hello Mr. Latour."

"Hello Sonia. It's been awhile," Mindy's father said.

Sonia turned back to Mindy, saying, "Listen, we have to hurry. My brother's and I are collecting together a few of our friends to meet in the park. We're going to explain everything that's been going on. Are you ready to come out?"

"Sure thing Sonia, who else are we going to get?" Mindy questioned, slightly confused, but ready and willing to follow.

"Bartleby," Sonia replied.

"Oh, your ex-fiancé?" Mindy asked. "I've seen him at a few parties."

"You got it," Sonia said.

"Great, let's go," Mindy said. Sonia grinned and raced to her bike, leaping on. Mindy climbed on behind her before her father could tell her to take a helmet, and the two girls sped off.

Bartleby sat in his den sipping tea. "Ah the lap of luxury never fails," Bartleby said aloud to himself. Just then, though, he heard a motorcycle come up. "What on Earth?" he asked aloud, as he put down his cup, with a curious yet annoyed expression, and rose to go to the door. He opened it wide only to see two girls climb off. "Could it be…?" he wondered aloud, squinting.

"Bartleby!" the pink haired girl screamed.

"Sonia!" Bartleby asked, eyes wide.

She ran right up to him and flung her arms around him, saying, "Oh I've missed you."

"Sonia, it really _is_ you!" Bartleby exclaimed, holding her back.

"Hey Bartleby," the second girl spoke, coming up to him.

"Mindy, darling, it's been so long," Bartleby greeted, kissing both her cheeks.

"Bartleby, you've got to come to the park with us. My brother's and I have so much to tell you," Sonia directly said.

"Are you quite serious?" Bartleby asked.

"Yes, come on," Sonia prompted. Both girls took his hands, and giggling, they led him to the bike.

"For land sakes there's not enough room on that for us all," Bartleby said.

"Yes there is," Sonia said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Mindy burst into laughter, making Bartleby nervous. The next moment they were speeding towards the park, Bartleby screaming in terror, sitting on the handlebars as Sonia steered.

Sonic, Manic, Trevor, and Cyrus waited in the park. Renee had met them there soon after, bringing along Jared and Sario. Stripes had come on his own. Mantu and Raphi had made the long trips from their homes to greet their long lost friends as well, having received Sonia's letters. Renee and Sario greeted Sonic and Manic with a hug. Hardly had five minutes passed when Sonia drove up with Mindy and Bartleby. Cyrus and Trevor looked at him incredulously. Bartleby, shaking, forced himself off of the handle bars. "Oh my," he groaned.

"Bartleby?" Cyrus asked.

"Really?" Trevor questioned.

"Oh come on, give him a chance," Sonia defended.

"Right, hey Mindy," Cyrus said, unconvinced.

"Hi Cyrus, Trevor," Mindy said.

"Have you considered coming back to the freedom fighters?" Trevor asked.

"I've had enough excitement to last a lifetime," Mindy answered.

"You can never have too much excitement," Renee said to her.

"Renee, Sario, I remember you two from a meeting," Mindy said. "Long time no see darlings," she added, going up to Renee and Sario, hugging them. Renee and Sario returned the gesture. "Don't worry, if I want excitement again, I'll look you up."

"Sonia!" Stripes, Raphi, and Mantu cried, running to her. They piled over her, hugging her tightly. She laughed, holding them all back.

"Okay, enough of that!" Sonic barked, racing to his sister.

"Yeah dudes, chill!" Manic shot, following. The two pulled Sonia away from the boys. Sonia scowled at them, but her brother's just ignored. Sonia apologetically smiled at the three.

All at once, a voice said affectionately, "Children, that's enough."

The kids turned. They all gaped in shock at the woman. After a long, long, moment, Mindy asked, "S-Sonia, is-is that your…"

"Your mumsy?" Bartleby asked in disbelief.

"Queen Aleena…" Renee said in awe.

"You reunited with her! That's great!" Cyrus exclaimed.

"Your highness, it's an honor," Trevor said, kneeling.

"How, did it happen?" Titus demanded to know instantly.

"All in good time," Aleena hushed, catching Sonia and Manic's eyes. They had seen Windermere and Ferrell.

Manic walked up to the thief in awe. "F-Ferrell, you're okay," he said, tears coming to his eyes.

"Manic, my boy!" Ferrell exclaimed.

"Ferrell!" Manic cried, leaping into his guardians arms. Ferrell held him tightly back.

"That's my boy, that's my boy, oh I missed you son," Ferrell said.

"Dad…" Manic muttered.

Sonia, meanwhile, was looking at Windermere, tears coming from her eyes. "Lady Windermere."

"Sonia, my dearest daughter!" Windermere screamed, kneeling and catching the girl in her embrace.

"Lady Windermere!" Sonia cried, bursting into tears. "Oh mom, I was so scared I'd never see you again!" Sonia added. Aleena watched her children reunite with their guardians, a pang of sadness, maybe even jealousy, pulling at her heart.

"You're their mother Aleena, and they'll never forget it," Argus said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She nodded.

The triplets turned to the other two adults. "Titus, Argus, you're back!" Sonia exclaimed.

"You're glad to see me?" Titus questioned in confusion.

"You may have been a liar and a cheat, but you saved me in the end," Sonia replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Lucky for him," Sonic remarked.

"Oh most definitely," Manic confirmed.

"Oh you guys," Sonia said, touched.

"Yes, and now, children, we have to fill our guests in," Aleena interrupted, getting right to the point. She looked directly at Argus and Titus with firm eyes. Instantly they knew something was about to be told that they weren't to react to. They looked uncertainly at each other. With that, the group launched into the lengthy narrative, leaving everyone there in awe. On hearing on Sleet's survival, however, Argus and Titus were rattled. It took all their will power to remain silent. Aleena, as she had been able to feel from her family, could feel the anger from the duo.

The news of the royal's reuniting spread throughout the city, throughout all their old acquaintances, and at last they were all caught up, from Knothole to Mobotropolis. The Royal family was together, yet they weren't to return to power just yet. The people didn't know why, but they didn't want to think on it. Too many bad memories were brought up. They simply trusted that they had their reasons, and they did. The Council of Four knew that things couldn't stay so peaceful forever. Not while Eggman and Team Vile still remained. Why hadn't they made a move yet? They didn't like it. Maybe the fortress was still being built though.


	9. Return

The Royal Archives: A Return To Origins

(A/N: The last chapter, and second up today. More pairing hints. Really, it's fun working with multiple pairings.

_**Return**_

Espio gazed out over the beach and ocean. He had gone for a walk while the Chaotix were still at the park with the others, waiting for Sonic to show up for the race with Jet. They were getting edgy too. They'd waited all day. He couldn't stay there any longer, so he'd silently slipped away. Amy had left around noon anyway, and hadn't come back. Someone had to find her, right? He had. She was right there, sitting on the beach, gazing out over the ocean, sun setting.

"What if something's happened to them?" a voice asked from behind him. "They should be back by now."

Espio turned. "Tikal, were you following me?" he questioned.

"I was worried about Amy," Tikal admitted. "Then I saw you going off, and I thought maybe I could help you find her." Espio nodded.

Turning back to watch Amy, he remarked, "They'll be back. Have a little faith."

"I never knew you were an optimist," Tikal remarked.

Espio nearly laughed. "I'm not," he replied. With that he walked towards the pink hedgehog. Tikal closed her eyes to try and sense them again. She was no Silver, but she _could_ feel things like that, if she focused.

Amy looked out over the ocean, knees up to her chest, watching the sunset. It had been five days, and he still wasn't back. This was the day he was supposed to race Jet. If he didn't come back for that, he wouldn't come back for her. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. All at once a voice spoke from behind, saying, "He'll be back Amy."

She gasped and turned. She relaxed. "Espio, how do you know?" Amy questioned.

"Just a feeling. They'll drag him back if they have to," Espio declared certainly.

"I don't believe it," Amy said. "He's seen Sally again…"

"Amy, his feelings for her were once unmatched, but now… Think about it. If he loved her so deeply, why hasn't he gone back for so long?" Espio questioned, sitting next to her cross legged and closing his eyes, preparing to meditate. She watched him silently a moment, then suddenly hugged him with a sob. Startled, he looked at her, then gently held her back.

"Espio, Amy, I sense something!" an urgent voice called, breaking the two apart. They looked quickly up.

"Tikal, what is it?" Espio asked, rising on seeing her running towards them.

"They're coming back, I sense it!" Tikal excitedly said, eyes sparkling with relief.

"You girls have so little faith," Espio remarked, shaking his head.

"Look!" Tikal exclaimed. Espio and Amy whirled. In the distance, a speck was coming over the ocean. Tikal leapt onto Espio's back, him having blocked her view. He caught her before she slipped off.

"Is it them?" Amy asked excitedly.

"What else leaves streaks of blue, pink, green, and purple behind them?" Espio asked.

"Espio, you were right!" Amy cried, hugging him again. All at once the Council of Four was there.

"What's up kids?" Sonic asked with a grin. It fell to confusion, though, on seeing Espio holding Amy and carrying Tikal on his back. "Ames?" Sonic asked, completely lost as to why they were clinging to the chameleon.

"Whoa dude, did we miss something here?" Manic questioned, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he watched the chameleon carrying Tikal on his back. "Did you turn into a ladies man?" Sonia blinked blankly.

"You're back!" Amy screamed, letting go of Espio and flinging herself into Sonic. "Oh Sonikku, I was afraid you'd never come back!"

"Hey, I said I would," Sonic replied, pushing her away in annoyance. She lunged again, though, and this time he surrendered, shaking his head in hopeless annoyance. "Amy, I have a race with Jet to get to," Sonic hinted. Amy didn't catch it, or chose to ignore.

Tikal slid off of Espio and raced to Manic, hugging him tightly. "I thought something had happened to you four," Tikal admitted.

"Hey Tikal, nothing will ever happen that we can't take," Manic declared overconfidently.

"Don't be too sure of that," Espio remarked.

"Well, aren't you going to greet me?" Sonia questioned him, slightly put off by the lack of acknowledgment after the other two girls were all over him. She didn't know why she felt suddenly bitter.

He gave a rare smirk, then went to her, spinning her around in the air. She squealed in delight. He put her down then disappeared with a final smirk. She looked curiously around, eyes worried. "He's probably meditating sis. He's weird like that," Sonic remarked. All at once Sonic was flipped onto the ground, right out of Amy's arms! "Whoa, hey!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Weird, am I?" Espio asked, reappearing and glaring angrily at Sonic. Sonic grinned innocently then leapt up, saying, "I'll catch you guys later, I'm late for a race."

"Hold up bro," Manic said, jumping onto his hover board, saying, "I want a piece of this action."

"I'm waiting," Sonic taunted. The two brothers raced off laughing.

"Hey, nobody leaves me just like that! Sonic, get back here!" Amy called, racing after them.

"What about me?" Sonia called. She huffed in frustration, then stood up her bike. "Anybody want a ride?" she asked.

"Is it safe?" Tikal questioned.

"Oh yeah, hop on," Sonia assured. Nervously Tikal obeyed. Quickly, though, she got off, saying, "I think I'll fly instead. The last time I was on a bike was with Shadow. He drove me to beneath Angel Island, back from the park, the day you told us you were going to visit Knothole."

"I take it you didn't have fun?" Sonia asked, eyes suspicious.

"It was, fun in an unusual kind of way," Tikal remarked, neither confirming nor denying that she liked motor bikes, but implying it wasn't her chosen way of getting around.

"Espio?" Sonia asked. He looked distastefully at the bike, but distaste gave way to curiosity.

"As long as Sonic doesn't turn on _me_ like he did Shadow," Espio said.

"No promises," Sonia lightly replied, though a hint of bitterness was there. Espio decided to risk it. He leapt on, and the two tore off, Tikal flying above. Espio cried out in alarm and tightened his hold on Sonia's waist. She laughed. He was too shocked to defend himself, and instead chose to adjust to it in his own time. Until then, well, his life was in her hands, and he hoped and prayed he wouldn't regret it.

Aleena watched them all disappear with a smile on her face, then looked out over the ocean, melancholy in her eyes. She didn't know why. Melancholy gave way to a frown, though, when she realized that somewhere, off this shore, there was the island where Eggman and Team Vile were bound to be. She wondered why they hadn't moved. No… she didn't wonder. She knew why. Sleet would have instantly seen the island for its full potential. _She'd_ seen it. It was perfect for them to hole up on. She didn't like their inactivity. It implied problems. But then again, when _didn't_ they imply problems?

Jet was still waiting at the meeting place with the others. They were bored, _he_ was getting fed up. He checked his watch. He swore, if Sonic wasn't here by midnight… All at once a voice called, "Hey Jet, hope you weren't waiting long. You don't mind one extra, do you?"

Jet turned. "Sonic, about time!" he angrily shot. He spotted Manic, smirked, then asked, "So you think you can race with the big boys?"

"Oh most definitely. Bring it on man," Manic replied.

"Three, two, one, go!" Jet suddenly said, almost too quickly for them to catch. All at once, though, the trio was off. "You keep up to my X-treme gear surprisingly well Manic!" Jet called over.

"Bro, I didn't know you had it in you to keep pace with _me_," Sonic added. "Even _with_ a hover board."

"Hey, I'm not the speed member of Team Underground for nothing," Manic replied as they began their fourth lap.

Back at the start, Sonia, Tikal, Amy, and Espio were watching with the others. All at once, Silver said, "He came back. I didn't think he would."

They turned. "Silver," Espio greeted. "Was I really the only one who believed they would? That's not usually how it plays out."

"The others are surprised that he came back," Silver said, gesturing around.

"Hey, we neva said that mate," Marine defended.

"Telekinesis, Marine, he doesn't _have_ to hear us say anything," Wave remarked.

"Do you always have this little faith in Sonic?" Sonia asked them.

"Depends on the circumstances," Charmy buzzed.

"Who's winning?" Storm questioned.

"Who do you think?" Shade asked.

"All right Sonic!" Tails cheered.

"Go True Blue," Knuckles unenthusiastically said. He looked over at Sonia and smiled at her. "Finally," he remarked.

"Miss me?" she asked.

"Of course we missed you Sonia, you're our friends," Cream interrupted.

Knuckles shot a quick look at the rabbit, then replied to Sonia, "You doubted?"

"Seeming a bit out of character Knuckles," Blaze teased. He frowned at her, but let it slide.

"I told you, ya can't beat me. I'm the fastest thing alive," Sonic declared, as he slid to a halt, Jet and Manic barely a second behind him, tied.

"Don't rub it in," Jet grumbled. Manic was laughing at Jet's reaction.

Just then Sonic noticed the others. "I told you I'd be back. Sheesh, you guys have such little faith," he declared.

"Can you blame us?" Rouge questioned. Sonic chose not to answer.

"Where's Aleena?" Vector questioned.

The triplets looked startled. They looked around. "Whoa dudes, I thought she followed us," Manic remarked.

"She's probably still at the beach," Sonia said. "She would be here by now if she were coming."

"Yeah, but why would she want to be around all that water?" Sonic asked.

"You're the one who ran over it," Manic said.

"You guys forced me to," Sonic defended.

"She'll be here soon children, don't worry," Vanilla stated reassuringly.

Nic had followed the Council to Mobotropolis, then followed Sonia. She had watched the park meeting. She had flown back and forth until the Council finally headed back home. Now she was back at Knothole, pretending to look for clues to Eggman's whereabouts as Sally thought up a plan for what they would do. She made her way into the forest, then looked around for any spies. She drew out the communication device, saying, "Come in Team Vile."

It was Dingo that appeared this time. "What's up Sheila?" he asked.

"The Council of Four is heading back home," Nic said. "Sleet wanted to know when they would, right?"

"You bet Nic," Dingo confirmed. "Hey Sleet!" Dingo yelled making Nic nearly drop the device. Dingo could be loud.

She heard a yelp, then a thud, and cringed. At Dingo's suddenly terrified expression, she guessed he'd caught the wolf at a bad time. "Ooh, you woke him up," she heard Nack say from somewhere in the background, tone betraying amusement, yet pity for the dingo.

Dingo cried out in terror, and the device was dropped. She saw it grabbed up by Fang, who said, "Oh boy sis, you ain't gonna want to miss this!" He turned it and she saw Sleet attacking Dingo with a fury she had rarely observed.

"Imbecile, Cretin, Muffin Brain!" Sleet yelled.

"Sleet, no! Not the face! I'm sorry mate!" Dingo was pleading.

"Aren't you gonna do anything?" Nic demanded of Nack.

"Are you kidding me? This is the most excitement we've had for months," Nack retorted.

"Nic has, news, Nic has news!" Dingo pleaded as he barely managed to pull away and whirl to face another potential dive. It worked, for Sleet paused before pouncing. He straightened up, fixed his armor, then marched towards the device, seizing it from Fang.

"What?" he asked sharply.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" she wryly asked.

He rolled his eyes and turned the device to get a look at Dingo. She cringed. He was limping and bleeding from a few scratches, looking at Sleet in terror every few seconds, making sure he wasn't attacking again. "_You_ tell _me_," Sleet retorted.

"You had to be so brutal?" she asked with a smirk.

"News," Sleet simply demanded.

"The Council of Four has met their old friends. From Knothole to Mobotropolis and who knows where else, they're caught up on everything. I'm not sure, but I'm getting from Sally, that she wants to rally together the freedom fighters in Knothole and Mobotropolis to find you all, or at least to find the Sonic Heroes. She doesn't have a plan yet, but she knows what goal she has. If she goes through with it, you're all in big trouble. What are the chances you'll be able to gather the emeralds again if an army is on your tail?" Nic narrated.

Sleet was silent a moment. She could practically see the gears turning in his mind. Finally he said, "That won't be a problem for a while yet."

"You have a plan mate?" Dingo timidly asked.

"Not a plan Dingo, more of an idea," Sleet replied.

"Elaborate," Nack said.

"A distraction to buy us some more time," Sleet answered.

"Now why not a plan?" Fang pressed.

Sleet grinned nervously, then admitted, grin falling, "I've got nothing." Regaining his composure, however, he added, "Let Doctor Robotnick come up with something next."

"His plans are quick and efficient, while yours are far between but even more efficient," Fang remarked.

"I wish," Sleet said. Turning back to Nic, he added, "Good work double agent. Keep me updated."

"No trouble honey," she replied. He cleared his throat nervously, then signed off.

She placed the device back in her pocket with a sigh. Suddenly, though, she heard the bushes crack. She scowled, then quickly raced towards it. She spotted fur disappearing. She activated the jet pack, flying after the figure. All at once the figure was in her sight. She scowled. "Fiona Fox, why am I not surprised?" Nic called, suddenly dropping from the air, landing on the fox with her feet, driving her to the ground.

Nic rolled off then aimed her gun at the girl. Fiona looked at her, mouth open. "Traitor," she finally remarked.

"Coming from _you_?" Nic bit.

"Aren't _we_ hostile?" Fiona insulted.

"Sorry hon, but I'm running this show, and you're not invited," Nic shot. With that she pulled the trigger. Fiona screamed, trying to lunge away, but the bullet grazed her. She cried out in pain, then in a desperate attempt at escape, turned on Nic. The two girls fought, screaming at each other, but soon enough Fiona barely managed to slam Nick into a tree, stunning her.

"Sorry Nic, but I'm not becoming another of your victims," she declared. With that break, Fiona limped off at a run.

Nic shook it off then pulled out the communication device. Sleet instantly answered. Before he could say a single word of annoyance, Nic shot, "Eggman told you about Fiona, right? Guess what, she's onto us. What should I do?"

"As far as I can tell, she has no real loyalty," Sleet said, thinking quickly, still trying to catch up to the news. "Maybe we'll get another ally out of it?"

"Or another enemy! One with all on Sonic's abilities, only evil!" Nic shot.

"The one Eggman called Scourge. I'm not impressed by him," Sleet replied.

"You're kidding, right?" Nic demanded.

"Not at all," Sleet stated.

"You're insane," she shot.

"Scared?" he taunted.

"Never," she answered, signing off. She looked uncertainly after Fiona, though.

"Sleet?" Nack asked.

"Things won't start rolling for a little while yet. Just follow my lead," Sleet replied, turning Dingo into a pin, placing him on his cape, then headed towards Eggman's office. "I have work to do." Fang didn't ask, simply followed.

* * *

><p>(Final Notes: To be followed by "The Knothole Mobotropolis Exploits: Installment 1-New Teams Arise."<p>

Now, the next one isn't done yet, so I'm not sure how much action will be in it, but there will be some. In all honesty, I never planned on bringing in Scourge and Fiona, seeing as I only know who they are, but I've read a couple stories that focus on Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Scourge, and though I don't usually include him as one of the main hedgehogs, only focusing on Shadow, Sonic, and Silver, I'm not so against it now either. I'm not sure when I'll bring him in, by the next one, however.

Soon enough we'll get back to the Sonic Heroes and some Eggman plots. Whether or not the heroes will even be in the next one, I'm not sure. It will, however, focus on Knothole and Mobotropolis characters more than I'll usually do, and it will have some plot points that will be good to know in future stories, so therefore one to read. Thank you for reading and, to those of you who reviewed, for reviewing.)


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